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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

On that note, with the continual increase in vehicular traffic in that interchange, does anyone know if there has been any studies past present or future of how to deal with traffic flow?
I presume that regardless of how much transit gets built the rush hour jams will only get worse since over there its basically 6 lanes converging into 3 over the span of a few hundred meters.
Maybe a reconfiguration of the junction or perhaps an express
 
cplchanb said:
On that note, with the continual increase in vehicular traffic in that interchange, does anyone know if there has been any studies past present or future of how to deal with traffic flow?
I presume that regardless of how much transit gets built the rush hour jams will only get worse since over there its basically 6 lanes converging into 3 over the span of a few hundred meters.
Maybe a reconfiguration of the junction or perhaps an express
Click to expand...

Maybe time for the 2 270* loops to could be converted into a stack exchange. There's already express/collector and hov ramps.
 
The misconception is that the interchange is a problem. The problem is actually the DVP as you are squeezing three 404 SB lanes, one 401 EB to DVP, and one 401 WB to DVP lane into only three lanes.

To fix it, you'd have to widen DVP southbound to five lanes to Lawrence (one through lane exits), then four lanes to Eglinton (another through lane exits), and you are back to three lanes.
 
By far the worst point is going from the 404 over the 401 and onto the DVP. It often takes 20 minutes just to do that stretch. Getting 3 through lanes along there is key and could fix a lot of issues.

I don't see a real need to widen the DVP beyond maybe HOV lanes down to Eglinton.
 
I'm curious to see if there are any others here that use the 427 (Northbound AM rush), that have noticed significant delays compared to same trip year over year? Seems that I've added a good 7 minutes to my commute over a year ago. There is some construction still happening, but lane reductions are minimal. Waze also almost always tells me to get off before (either to use 27N or get off at Fasken, etc), as traffic is always backed up from the end of the 427 to about the 409. Any reasons for this?
 
Probably the widening project on the 427 north of 409.

Seems surprising given that traffic has generally improved in the GTA (particularly 401 near Pearson) in the last year due to the bad economy.
 
andrewpmk said:
Probably the widening project on the 427 north of 409.

Seems surprising given that traffic has generally improved in the GTA (particularly 401 near Pearson) in the last year due to the bad economy.
Click to expand...
I actually think the traffic has gotten worse compared to previous year. There used to be one or two days weekdays where traffic moves at reasonable speed during afternoon rush on 401 eastbound. Now it's crawling every weekday afternoons; what's worse is that it now lasts to 7pm.
 
andrewpmk said:
Seems surprising given that traffic has generally improved in the GTA (particularly 401 near Pearson) in the last year due to the bad economy.
Click to expand...
There might be some local variations around particular factories. But employment is up significantly in the GTA. By over 4.5% in the last 12 months in the Toronto CMA according to the latest release from Stats Canada - http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/lfss04f-eng.htm. That's about 140,000 more jobs - and yet the population only increased by 80,000. Meanwhile unemployment dropped by 20,000, meaning the workforce itself grew by about 40,000.

Perhaps if you are seeing traffic improvements, it's because more people are cycling, or using other modes, in your neighbourhood.
 
11th said:
I actually think the traffic has gotten worse compared to previous year. There used to be one or two days weekdays where traffic moves at reasonable speed during afternoon rush on 401 eastbound. Now it's crawling every weekday afternoons; what's worse is that it now lasts to 7pm.
Click to expand...

Work zones will tend to increase congestion as drivers are more cautious when lanes are narrowed and shoulders removed to place barriers, etc. There is also the element of visual distraction as you can observe bridge widening being done and paving operations. Congestion on 427 has definitely gotten worse on 427 since the construction and unfortunately it will be like this for a few more years. But look on the bright side, when the construction is done, 427 Northbound will have another standard lane plus an HOV lane.
 
nfitz said:
There might be some local variations around particular factories. But employment is up significantly in the GTA. By over 4.5% in the last 12 months in the Toronto CMA according to the latest release from Stats Canada - http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/lfss04f-eng.htm. That's about 140,000 more jobs - and yet the population only increased by 80,000. Meanwhile unemployment dropped by 20,000, meaning the workforce itself grew by about 40,000.

Perhaps if you are seeing traffic improvements, it's because more people are cycling, or using other modes, in your neighbourhood.
Click to expand...

Employment is growing at a glacial pace again now that the recession is over but it isn't growing very much. Also I think that there is a big shift away from suburban office parks towards downtown employment that is causing a decrease in traffic congestion. If you go out to Mississauga there are for lease signs everywhere and practically no new office space is being built anywhere outside downtown.

The number of people who are crazy enough to bike to work is tiny, so this has absolutely nothing to do with it. Especially in November.
 
andrewpmk said:
Employment is growing at a glacial pace again now that the recession is over but it isn't growing very much.
Click to expand...
A 4.5% increase in the last year - over 140,000 jobs in the GTA is glacial? Recall we only lost 33,000 jobs in the previous 12 month from October 2013 to October 2014, and gained about 130,000 in the year before that.

andrewpmk said:
The number of people who are crazy enough to bike to work is tiny, so this has absolutely nothing to do with it. Especially in November.
Click to expand...
This November? I'm seeing bikes everywhere. Everyone should cycle!
 
Bojaxs said:
Is anyone else surprised to see construction crews are already paving the widened portions of the 410? I feel as if this project is moving along very nicely.

http://my410.ca/sitepages/resp-photos.html
Click to expand...

It's coming along according to schedule. You'll be driving on that widened portion next year, but then the entire outside will be under construction for widening and bridge work. The whole thing is planned to be complete by end of 2018.
 
andrewpmk said:
Employment is growing at a glacial pace again now that the recession is over but it isn't growing very much. Also I think that there is a big shift away from suburban office parks towards downtown employment that is causing a decrease in traffic congestion. If you go out to Mississauga there are for lease signs everywhere and practically no new office space is being built anywhere outside downtown.

The number of people who are crazy enough to bike to work is tiny, so this has absolutely nothing to do with it. Especially in November.
Click to expand...

A lot of the jobs created outside of downtown don't have a sexy building. So the growth isn't visible outside of downtown.

As for those lease signs...commercial expects about a 10% vacancy rate. Outside of downtown as soon as it dips below that you see new construction. Inclusive of vacancies this rate goes to about 13% (most people stay until the end of the lease). Fairly healthy.

Downtown is really an abnormality around the world with a 3% vacancy. But that's because there are a lot of companies paying for 2 spaces, a new one and the old one they vacated. Inclusive of sublets this shoots up to 15%. If we don't stop building towers this may become a problem in 5-10 years.

So people may think the growth in the GTA is downtown but a lot of the visible signs are just firms moving to newer buildings. There is still growth...just as not as much as you expect with all the new towers.
 
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