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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Hello everyone, long time lurker, finally decided to engage with the community. Looking at the 401 AADT, I was wondering what the individual lane capacity is like (or at least a more or less narrow range of values depending on time of day etc). Could someone point me to the relevant documents/stats?

Much appreciated!
 
Neutrino said:
Hello everyone, long time lurker, finally decided to engage with the community. Looking at the 401 AADT, I was wondering what the individual lane capacity is like (or at least a more or less narrow range of values depending on time of day etc). Could someone point me to the relevant documents/stats?

Much appreciated!
Click to expand...
The common value is 2000 vehicles per hour. If vehicles follow each other at 2 second intervals, that translates into 1800 vehicles per hour.
As for AADT, it depends on how many hours there are in a day. In Toronto, peak rush hour may not be any busier than 40 years ago, but then the peak hour occurred for 1 hour and now it occurs for 4 hours.
I thought I had seen a rough estimate of 10 peak hour equivalent hours per day (which may actually be a bit high) (i.e. 1 lane needed for every 20,000 of AADT).
 
^As a general rule, 15k AADT is a good point to widen, 20k is very congested. The 401 through Mississauga on it's 6 lane stretch is close to 20k per lane, and is getting widened. 10-15k AADT per lane (depending on the type of traffic) is a general rule for a highway that operates well. MTO typically tries to widen highways from 4 lanes when they hit 60,000 AADT, from 6 lanes when they hit roughly 100,000 AADT, etc.

The busiest part of the 401 is 15 through lanes wide, and has roughly 410,000 AADT, or 27,000 AADT per lane. It is EXTREMELY congested at that level, as we all know. When it hit its peak AADT of 450,000 in 2004, it was only 14 lanes as well, which is 32,000 AADT per lane.
 
Thanks for the information. Is 2000 per lane per hour the peak period volume? What would it be for the midday and evening periods?
 
For anyone confused, here is a video showing what 410 NB is currently like between 401 and Courtneypark:

I assume it will stay this way throughout the winter until the barrier starts construction in spring. Maybe temporary barrier will be placed?
 
News Release

Ontario Opens New Lanes on Highway 427
December 8, 2017

Province Adding an HOV Lane to Keep People Moving
Ontario has opened two new lanes on Highway 427, including a new High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, to help improve traffic flow and get people where they're going sooner.

Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation, Shafiq Qaadri, MPP for Etobicoke North, Peter Milczyn, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and Linda Jeffrey, Mayor of Brampton, made the announcement today and opened the HOV lane, which runs southbound from Morningstar Drive to Fasken Drive. The province has also opened a new general purpose northbound lane from Woodbine to Finch, which brings this 4.5-kilometre portion of the highway to a total of seven lanes. This work is part of the ongoing Highway 427 widening project, which is scheduled for completion in July 2018, and will create or sustain approximately 580 direct or indirect jobs.

High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes with electronic tolling will also be implemented in 2021 in both directions, from south of Highway 409 to north of Rutherford Road, a distance of approximately 15.5 kilometres. No existing general purpose lanes will be removed to accommodate the HOT lanes.

Improving highways to get traffic moving is part of Ontario's plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.


QUICK FACTS
  • Ontario is investing $82.8 million in the Highway 427 widening project.
  • The average daily traffic on Highway 427 between Morningstar Drive and Fasken Drive is approximately 140,000 vehicles per day and is expected to grow to more than 154,000 by 2021.
  • Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province's history. To learn more about what's happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.
 
I wish MTO would add 3+ HOV lanes to all the major highways to benefit GO buses.
 
Neutrino said:
I wish MTO would add 3+ HOV lanes to all the major highways to benefit GO buses.
Click to expand...
Why, just to punish drivers who managed to find 1 carpool partner, and those who couldn't ?

If they get too busy with 2+, I could see this, but I would suspect they are carrying less than 50% of capacity currently.
 
BurlOak said:
Why, just to punish drivers who managed to find 1 carpool partner, and those who couldn't ?

If they get too busy with 2+, I could see this, but I would suspect they are carrying less than 50% of capacity currently.
Click to expand...

Do not put words in my mouth. They would not replace the 2+, but co-exist (if that's workable).
 
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Edward Skira said:
High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes with electronic tolling will also be implemented in 2021 in both directions, from south of Highway 409 to north of Rutherford Road, a distance of approximately 15.5 kilometres. No existing general purpose lanes will be removed to accommodate the HOT lanes.
Click to expand...
I guess that this means that 427 extension is to be complete by 2021?
 
With Ontario way behind other jurisdictions with transit traffic signals, adjustable speed limits, etc. it'll be probably the 22nd century before Ontario even considers digital driver's license (and digital health cards for that matter).

See link.

iowa-digital-drivers-licence-compressor.jpg


See link.
mobile-driver-license.jpg


And violations (IE. suspensions) can turn up via cell data or Wi-Fi.
 
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