BurlOak
Senior Member
Basically, some of the traffic was supposed to transfer to the Richview Expressway. That was the start of the problems.
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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion
- Thread starter Haljackey
- Start date
44 North
Senior Member
On 401 EB just before the 403 split in Woodstock, an information sign was installed letting you know about travel times.
This helps you decide whether to take the 401 or 403 to Greater Toronto if there is a backup on one of them. It's a welcome addition!
Location:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.1049...4!1sMnLOD0YGSk4VyqpxEBtr2w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Signs like these are great. This one in particular I feel can be a bit confusing for no other reason than the layout/formatting. Perhaps if they could put a bigger vertical space between the Guelph and Hamilton sections, or say use a shorthand for Lincoln Alexander (do ppl in Hamilton say LMA Pkwy?). I dunno, maybe it's just me that has to mentally figure this sign out when looking at it.
And agree with others that if another sign said travel times to Highway 427 it could be quite helpful.
Was wondering if this was an off the cuff remark by the board, or if they had a report to back. They do have a report. Was hoping for something a bit more technical or descriptive of plans for a dual level highway. But regardless I do appreciate that they're saying straight up an elevated solution. Sort of get the impression that "elevated" is either verbotten or seldom heard here, and expected that they'd woo people by saying tunnel and only tunnel. They should get MTO to commission a study to see its merits.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
Good thing this won't happen in the foreseeable future:
Toronto has been hit by earthquakes, but none were strong like the above yet.
Dan416
Senior Member
Is expropriation really not an option here?
11th
Senior Member
If their destination is Toronto (or anywhere east) they have the option of either going via 401 to 427, or via 403/QEW to 427.
TransitBart
Senior Member
I was going to ask. Why does the highway narrow at this place? What was the plan?
44 North
Senior Member
Yet being the key word. When it comes to very deep, unstudied (and impossible to study), intra-plate seismic scenarios, never say never. New Madrid type earthquakes can potentially surprise lots of places.
And when it comes to toppled elevated highways I think Kobe will forever take the cake.
Perhaps not along Greensboro Dr, unless one of the business owners gets a hefty payout. There is a 100m wide hydro corridor paralleling 401 to the north between 409 and 427. From a cursory glance by a casual observer I think it could be used. Would be a good bypass solution providing equal throughput as east and west of there.
BurlOak
Senior Member
Essentially, Eglinton Avenue was to be a freeway - which basically would have gone down Black Creek Drive, then across Davenport to DVP. This way, half the 401 EB traffic near the airport would take the Richview Expressway - alleviating that portion of the 401.
http://www.gettorontomoving.ca/roads.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancelled_expressways_in_Toronto
TransitBart
Senior Member
Often things don’t work out as planned. Eastbound at 427 is a total shitshow. But westbound from Islington is also a shitshow and that plan from 1966 never anticipated that.Essentially, Eglinton Avenue was to be a freeway - which basically would have gone down Black Creek Drive, then across Davenport to DVP. This way, half the 401 EB traffic near the airport would take the Richview Expressway - alleviating that portion of the 401.
http://www.gettorontomoving.ca/roads.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancelled_expressways_in_Toronto
Steve X
Senior Member
All the unbuilt expressways would be all jammed up today if they were built. I don't see why 20 more lanes of freeway out of the core would do any good.
BurlOak
Senior Member
Although how did those cars get onto WB 401 at Islington?
Presumably, many came from downtown (i.e. DVP, Allen, etc. up to 401 and then WB. Their alternative would have been Richview to 401 WB - and they could have skipped this portion of 401 at Islington completely.
timio
Active Member
Sure, but the argument here is the sign doesn't tell you estimated travel time to downtown Toronto, only Highway 6 or the Linc, so what purpose does it serve? It's like comparing apples to oranges. You can get to Guelph on a highway that isn't really that busy in this amount of time OR you can get to Hamilton on a highway that really isn't that busy in this amount of time. Those of us who travel to TO from the west with any amount of frequency know that the congestion doesn't start until after those points, whichever way you take.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
The plan for the municipal expressway system wasn't that large - it would have totaled 16 additional lanes, if you include each direction. I believe the 400 Extension was going to be 4 lanes each way between the Richview Expressway and the Crosstown Expressway, with Spadina and the Scarborough Expressways being 2 lanes in each direction.
That would have given Toronto a total of about 28 freeway lanes out of the core. Compare to Chicago, which has 54. (8 on Lake Shore Drive North, 8 on Lake Shore Drive South, 10 on I90 North, 14 on I90 South, 8 on I290, and 6 on I55)
Haljackey
Active Member
It would have also cut up communities and caused a lot of segregation like Chicago. I am happy some projects weren't done like the Spadina Expressway. Extensions of the Richview and 404 to where the two would have met would have been nice however.
401 might not have had as many lanes as it does today if all this was built however. It had to widen to pick up the slack.
It would also have been nice to get rapid transit lines built in the median / right of way.
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Would'a could'a should'a. Need to worry about what we can fix now and the future. Some 401 expansion to open up the bottlenecks is a good place to start.
401 might not have had as many lanes as it does today if all this was built however. It had to widen to pick up the slack.
It would also have been nice to get rapid transit lines built in the median / right of way.
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Would'a could'a should'a. Need to worry about what we can fix now and the future. Some 401 expansion to open up the bottlenecks is a good place to start.
Woodbridge_Heights
Senior Member
I present my proposal of tunneling the 409 under the airport to a connection with the end of the 403 as a solution to alleviate congestion in the area.
Benefits:
- provides access to the airport from the west without using the 410/401/427 interchange mess.
- provides an alternative route through the area on the 409 from the east.
Negatives:
- cost
- sensitive land east of the 403
Benefits:
- provides access to the airport from the west without using the 410/401/427 interchange mess.
- provides an alternative route through the area on the 409 from the east.
Negatives:
- cost
- sensitive land east of the 403