News   Jan 08, 2025
50 Scollard Tops Off as Cladding and Glazing Installation Continues
 933     0 
News   Jan 08, 2025
Quintet of High-Rises Proposed on Kingston Road in Pickering
 1.4K     1 
News   Jan 08, 2025
News Roundup for January 8, 2025
 594     1 

Highway 401: Proposed Province-Wide Widening

I don't see the point in widening the 401, the trucking industry will collapse eventually and there will be no more need.
 
The trucking industry will collapse?

Do tell.

What is the rough time frame for "eventually"?
 
I'd like to see the trucking industry collapse, but it won't happen as soon as it should. As just-in-time delivery is still intrenched, it will be hard to shift to rail and marine transport, even as JIT is such a terrible, unsustainable concept. The only thing that may happen in the near-to-mid future is a slow shift to more intermodal freight.
 
There's no good reason why a scheduled railroad couldn't deliver the same just in time performance as the truckers. The North American Class Is just have to start taking lessons from CN and make their service more reliable.
 
I'd like to see the trucking industry collapse
Click to expand...


That would complete devastate Northern Brampton. Most people here are truck drivers. :rolleyes:
 
CDL.TO said:
6 lanes isn't required but is the standard on all the major motorways. The point was that there are lots of A-roads that DON'T have roundabouts or at-grade intersections that would be considered expressways here. Examples that I'm familiar with include the A50, A10 in Herfordshire, A14 for most of its length (it even has interchange numbers), the A2, the A13, and I'm sure there are many more...
Click to expand...
Must be a new standard because lots of motorways have only 4 lanes. Freeways that aren't part of the primary freeway network are fairly common here too, probably not as much as there though. We have freeways that aren't 400-series highways - Hwy 8, 86, Lincoln Alexander Parkway, Gardiner, DVP, 174 in Ottawa, EC Row Expressway. Those are all urban highways but the 115 is an intercity route that's a full freeway.

I just got reminded of a dual carriageway in England (don't remember which one) that has bike lanes! I sure wouldn't want to ride my bike on a highway like that.
 
Changing topoics slightly, but I've always wished the province would re-stress the actual names of many of our provincial highways. For example, The MacDonald-Cartier Freeway (401), The Belfield Expressway (409), etc. It doesn't mean we need to get rid of the 400-series designations, but I think using the non-numeric names as well gives our highways a bit more personality. Where highways aren't named (ie. 410) it would be an opportunity to give them one. Bill Davis Expressway anyone?

I also think the QEW should be given a 400-number too, but of course keep the Queen Elizabeth Way moniker as well.
 
Darkstar416 said:
Changing topoics slightly, but I've always wished the province would re-stress the actual names of many of our provincial highways. For example, The MacDonald-Cartier Freeway (401), The Belfield Expressway (409), etc. It doesn't mean we need to get rid of the 400-series designations, but I think using the non-numeric names as well gives our highways a bit more personality. Where highways aren't named (ie. 410) it would be an opportunity to give them one. Bill Davis Expressway anyone?

I also think the QEW should be given a 400-number too, but of course keep the Queen Elizabeth Way moniker as well.
Click to expand...


Wasn't the '4' a reference to number of lanes? Shouldn't the highway now be 601, except where it has ballooned to 1201 and 1401 and 1601 and whatever? :)
 
The 400-series refers to the minimum number of lanes, a new classification. MTO has a good highway hierarchy - 1-199 for standard highways, 400-499 for freeways, 500-699 for secondary highways (the equivalent of county roads where there are no counties) and 800-899, though this classification is hardly used. Then there are the 7000-7999 highways. But it's a secret. (shuddup!).

The QEW has a 400 number, though it is used internally - Highway 451.

No, I don't think we should give names to our highways, because they never stuck. The only ones that do are the Macdonald-Cartier (as if anyone still refers to that), the Veteran's Memorial Highway (quick! where is it?), and sections in urban areas, like the Queensway in Ottawa (still largely used, partly as part of the Queensway isn't the 417).

Other cities, like Montreal do have official names for some highways (Metropolitanne, Decarie, Ville-Marie), Chicago (Stevenson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Dan Ryan), LA and New York. I guess this is partly as the designations change on a given freeway, and there are distinct sections of one route.
 
That's a really good idea, cdl. I couldn't possibly think of a more appropriate naming than the 410 as Bill Davis Expressway. Macdonald-Cartier Freeway is such a wonderful name, if a bit of a mouthful. I wish they would re-emphasize it. If the Tories ever get back into power, I can imagine 11 north of Barrie as the Mike Harris Highway. Actually, I don't think that would be unreasonable. Conestoga Parkway is also quite a lovely name. I try to use it from time to time when I'm referring to it, but most people just give me puzzled looks.

Other possibilities: 403 through Brantford for Alexander Graham Bell or Gretzky and maybe in Mississauga for Hazel McCallion (eventually); the Oshawa 407-401 connector for Samuel McLaughlin; one of the Niagara highways for Brock, Tecumseh, or Laura Secord.
 
unimaginative2 said:
That's a really good idea, cdl. I couldn't possibly think of a more appropriate naming than the 410 as Bill Davis Expressway.

Other possibilities: 403 through Brantford for Alexander Graham Bell or Gretzky and maybe in Mississauga for Hazel McCallion (eventually); the Oshawa 407-401 connector for Samuel McLaughlin; one of the Niagara highways for Brock, Tecumseh, or Laura Secord.
Click to expand...

I think Hazel's got more than enough things named for her already. Aren't there other Mississaugans that should be recognized for something or another? (And no, not Don Cherry - maybe a hockey arena, but that's the best he should get).

Gretzky’s got enough things named for him too in Brantford – including a street, so a 403 naming should be a no-go.

Highway 410 – Bill Davis isn’t that bad a name, but even he’s got enough things named for him in Brampton – a school, a college campus, a courthouse. And he’s not dead yet.

That’s why Conestoga Parkway is such a great name. It rolls off the tongue well, it’s a collection of several highways that use it only in sections (it’s 85, or 7, or 7/8), so it works, and it’s not named for anyone.

For Highway 11, I propose the original name of the Muskoka-North Bay highway, the Ferguson Highway (though that was named for a premier too).
 
Oops! I meant Darkstar.

As for the Conestoga Parkway, I completely agree SeanTrans. Unfortunately I guess it doesn't roll off the tongue quite well enough, since few people use the name. "The Expressway" or "The Thruway" are the most common names people use. Even the province seems to have started using the name "K-W Expressway," which I think is a shame.

Mackenzie King might be a good choice for Highway 8. It's stunning how little fuss we make over the longest-serving democratic leader in history.
 
I think Charlie Farquharson referred to the 401 as the McDougall & Brown Expressway, or something like that
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top