Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

[Markster]

I stand corrected.

Looks like there's an HOV lane somewhere in the region that's doing its job; providing a real incentive to carpool.

 

[LRGM]

The MTO, in all of its flirting with HOV lanes, really knows how to put them in places where they have absolutely no effect!

Man, imagine if they put HOV lanes on the new Hurontario 401 strech! Carpools effectively would get a free pass through the crunch as it shrinks down at Mavis. Oh, but that's too useful, and might actually promote carpooling. Better add an HOV lane and a general widening to a rural stretch between Cambridge and Milton instead.

I'm not sure if you are joking or not, but the new Hurontario stretch has an HOV lane in the express part.

 

[GTS]

The MTO is planning on widening Highway 400 to 10 lanes (8+2 HOV) up to Barrie. This will include replacing the overpasses which are old and in need of replacements anyway.

Thanks for the info. That highway could use the investment for sure. Hope that the newish Barrie GO station takes a bit of a load of that highway as well.

 

[Transportfan]

Extending the 427 to Barrie would be better though. 10 lanes for a rural freeway is insane. And a major accident will still block it.

 

[ShonTron]

I'd prefer reversable HOV/HOT lanes on the 400 between Vaughan and south of Barrie (where ideally, a new Highway 426 meets the 400 south of Mapleview Road and diverts traffic headed to Collingwood, Wasaga and maybe Midland). Same NB and SB 3 lanes, plus a two or three lane core.

No need for the 427 north of Major Mack, where it would relieve truck congestion to and from the CP intermodal yard and warehouses in the area.

Lanes would be southbound from 5AM to 11AM, northbound from 1PM to midnight on weekdays and northbound all day Saturdays and southbound all day Sundays and holiday Mondays. Here's where so-called Lexus lanes make a lot of sense, giving wealthy cottage owners a faster drive up and leaving capacity for local traffic, and free use for carpools and families.

Such reversable lanes would act as express lanes with limited access with Ontario tall walls, and could be opened up to all traffic if a major collision closes either the south or northbound general lanes, and would reduce dangerous weaving.

 

[Haljackey]

Extending the 427 to Barrie would be better though. 10 lanes for a rural freeway is insane. And a major accident will still block it.

Building a new freeway in this day and age is very difficult to get approved (widening is difficult enough lol). The only reason why the 407 is getting extended is because it being tolled... a cash cow for the province.

The MTO was reluctant to extend the 427 north of Highway 7, so Vaughan was the one that built the short arterial extension north of here.

I'd prefer reversable HOV/HOT lanes on the 400 between Vaughan and south of Barrie

Based on what I've heard, the MTO's HOV standards don't include reversible lanes or times where they alternate between HOV and other uses. There must be one in each direction, and must be 24-hour, 7-day a week HOV lanes with a min. 2 person limit.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Texas Considering 85 mph Speed Limit . That's 136.8 km/h for the rest of the world.

From this link:

A new stretch of highway in Texas could have one of the highest posted speed limits in the world -- 85 mph (136.8 km/h).

The Texas Department of Transportation said it will conduct tests near the 41-mile (66 km) portion of state Highway 130, still under construction, to determine whether 85 mph (136.8 km/h) is a reasonable speed limit.

Gary Biller, president of the National Motor Association, said the rationale behind speed limits should be safety, not ticket revenue.

“They’ll study the traffic and let it flow naturally,†he said. “It turns out to be the best, most efficient and safest speed limit to set.

If the tests support an 85 mph (136.8 km/h) speed limit, Biller said he will too. Speed limits have been on the rise since the national maximum of 55 mph (88.5 km/h) was repealed in 1996.

“There’s engineering rationale behind this,†he said. “Speed limits keep climbing in a responsible way.â€

A spokesperson from the Texas Department of Transportation said it was premature to determine whether the new highway could be the speediest in the country.

Last year, the Texas State Legislature increased the state’s maximum speed limit to 85 mph (136.8 km/h), but only for new highways.

The new highway will run north-south between Austin and the town of Seguin.

 

[rbt]

Texas Considering 85 mph Speed Limit . That's 136.8 km/h for the rest of the world.

I've been in Georgia when there was a thick frost on the ground.

Folks were still trying to drive 70mph with bald tires on a fairly low traction roadway surface. We saw at least 1500 cars in the ditch, around poles, or otherwise totaled that day including a few police cruisers, a pair of ambulances, and a fire truck.

One freak snowfall in Texas and this experiment could reduce the population by a fair amount if they're not smart enough to know speed limits are weather related.

 

[TOareaFan]

Building a new freeway in this day and age is very difficult to get approved (widening is difficult enough lol). The only reason why the 407 is getting extended is because it being tolled... a cash cow for the province.

The MTO was reluctant to extend the 427 north of Highway 7, so Vaughan was the one that built the short arterial extension north of here.

Actually, that short extension to Zzenway was paid for by Zzen Group the people who go are/have developed the land there. Not sure if they were paid back but they put up the cash because the delays in the 427 extension (at the time Brampton and Vaughan were arguing over the routing) was costing them opportunities/profits.

Since, no matter which route was chosen, that part would be needed it was agreed they could build that wee bit and free up the land for development.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

My preference is for any 427 extension to be routed North-West, roughly parallel to highways 27/50. As any extension that doubles back to the 400 in Barrie would simply shift the traffic loads to that interchange.

By routing North-West the highway would still provide relief for traffic heading to the Wasaga/Collingwood region, actually giving a more direct route to the region compared to the 400/26 route.

 

[Dan416]

Why would it double back to the 400 anyway? That's stupid.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Why would it double back to the 400 anyway? That's stupid.

The current plans are to have the highway head East to meet up with the 400 somewhere around Mapleview. That's my recollection at least, it could be somewhere else.

Correction the plan is/was to meet up with the 400 at hwy 89.

 

[gweed123]

The current plans are to have the highway head East to meet up with the 400 somewhere around Mapleview. That's my recollection at least, it could be somewhere else.

Correction the plan is/was to meet up with the 400 at hwy 89.

In my opinion, this is just shifting around where the bottleneck takes place. For cottage traffic, it would create a new bottleneck on Friday heading northbound where the 427 and 400 meet. But on Sundays, it would actually help the 401 out tremendously, especially through that central stretch (at least for those people heading westbound on the 401).

That 401-400 interchange is a nightmare, so maybe diverting traffic over to the 427 won't be such a bad thing.

 

[nfitz]

By the time the 427 is extended that far, then the 404 will have already been extended to highway 12 near Beaverton, which is much further in the planning stage. At that point, it would likely be quicker, shorter, and less crowded for any traffic on Highway 11 from Orillia, to take Highway 12 to 404, and head into Toronto that way. So weekend traffic loads from 89 to Barrie may already be lower by then.

I've wondered what they are thinking of doing with 404 after that point ... by then you're only about 45 km from connecting 404 to 11 along 12 and regional road 169. Perhaps one day it will be the 404 that gets to North Bay.

 

[Haljackey]

I think the ultimate plan is to connect Highway 404 with Highway 11, creating an alternative around Lake Simcoe and ultimately taking stress of the 400.

This (old) map from Wikipedia shows proposed 400-Series Highways. As you can see, Highway 427 would indeed curve and meet the 400.

Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400-series_highways

On top of this, I'd like to see the 403 extended to meet with the 402. This would create a desperately needed freeway in north London, and would take stress off the 401 between the 402 and 403.