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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

Provides capacity for weekend peak traffic while discouraging single occupant commuters during the week.

because so many cars are multi-passenger, the HOV would effectively have the same capacity of a GP lane on weekends when it is most needed, but provides lower capacity on weekdays when you want to try to discourage single occupant trips.
You could just arbitrarily close lanes during weekday rush hour and achieve the same result.
 
BTW, passing on the right on a multi-lane roadway, in and of itself, is not illegal in Ontario.
True, in Ontario at least, if done safely.

However, the motorist who puts themselves in a position that a car can safely pass on the right, could be ticked, for not staying to the right. Perhaps not on urban highways, but certainly on rural ones.
 
I have noticed in a few location where metal barrier fencing has been added to the top of the concrete barrier to block the headlights of on coming traffic and that is a welcome sign.

Don't know if this is cheaper that raising the barrier wall as it be rebuilt or being added.

I know a few locations on curves where the barrier is higher and blocks headlights.
 
The HOV lane setup in Ontario is only good for long-distance traffic. In other areas there are dedicated HOV-only exits and entrances to local roads and larger highways. In Ontario you have to exit the lane and merge all the way right to exit.

For someone like me, the HOVs on the 403/QEW stretch is quite nice because whenever I use this stretch I use the HOV lane for it's entire length. It may not be the fastest if there's a slow driver in front of you, but it flows better and congests less frequently than the general lanes. Those lanes could be flowing faster at one point and backed up another, whereas the HOV flows at the same speed so it's more efficient.

I do think it's somewhat stupid to put in 1 HOV when they had room for 2 general lanes however. New builds with HOVs are fine, but when you have limited space you may want to squeeze as much lane space in instead. Conversely, if they just dropped the buffer (which isn't really needed, most other areas don't have this) they could have still 10-laned the 403/QEW, but with 1 HOV lane + 1 general lane.

On the 401, the HOV lane is an express lane within the express lanes. Seems kind of odd since you only have 2 express lanes now for general traffic and I could see that getting clogged with trucks with no way to pass them.
 
In a Toronto Star article discussing the declining health of Lake Simcoe, and on-going threats that will likely harm it further.........

Objections are raised to population growth mandates in the area......

And...to the Bradford bypass.


Behind the paywall:


From the article:

1618240096571.png
 
The HOV lane setup in Ontario is only good for long-distance traffic. In other areas there are dedicated HOV-only exits and entrances to local roads and larger highways. In Ontario you have to exit the lane and merge all the way right to exit.

For someone like me, the HOVs on the 403/QEW stretch is quite nice because whenever I use this stretch I use the HOV lane for it's entire length. It may not be the fastest if there's a slow driver in front of you, but it flows better and congests less frequently than the general lanes. Those lanes could be flowing faster at one point and backed up another, whereas the HOV flows at the same speed so it's more efficient.

I do think it's somewhat stupid to put in 1 HOV when they had room for 2 general lanes however. New builds with HOVs are fine, but when you have limited space you may want to squeeze as much lane space in instead. Conversely, if they just dropped the buffer (which isn't really needed, most other areas don't have this) they could have still 10-laned the 403/QEW, but with 1 HOV lane + 1 general lane.

On the 401, the HOV lane is an express lane within the express lanes. Seems kind of odd since you only have 2 express lanes now for general traffic and I could see that getting clogged with trucks with no way to pass them.
Adding HOV lanes in the newly constructed express lanes on the 401in Mississauga was such a foolish idea. I don't think there should be HOV lanes anywhere on the express/ collectors portions of the 401.
 
In a Toronto Star article discussing the declining health of Lake Simcoe, and on-going threats that will likely harm it further.........

Objections are raised to population growth mandates in the area......

And...to the Bradford bypass.


Behind the paywall:


From the article:

View attachment 312091
If they want the bypass cancelled that's fine and all, but it wont reduce the volume of traffic that passes through Bradford everyday, and It will only increase and bog up Bradford, that's not very healthy for its residents.
 
If the goal was to simply alleviate traffic pressure on downtown Bradford they could do that by enhancing the existing road network with possibly a new link or two to fill in gaps. This is a route connecting two 400-series highways. If it isn't initially one itself it soon will be.
 
Is the Bradford Bypass proposal overbuilding? Possibly. But cancelling it outright would further strangle Bradford's downtown. Holland Street in older parts of town is incredibly hostile for pedestrians, making redevelopment and economic activity in the downtown unpalatable. Pressure on the town to grow is immense, and the safest way to accommodate those pressures right now is through sprawling further and further from downtown and the GO station.

Highway 11 is the only way east from the Bradford area, and will be the fastest route to the 400 for thousands of new residents of East Gwillimbury. Right now there IS no alternative that doesn't involve crossing the Holland River.
 
HOV lanes were pretty much only a means of greenwashing highway expansion, especially the way they are designed in Ontario. They are only added to highway expansion (widening and extension) projects, creating illogical HOV lane end points, and creating awkward merges, especially between freeways. Only SB 404 to WB 401 was done right.
 
Can we upzone and densify the area around Bradford GO before sprawling further?
Bradford has designated nearly everything along Holland Street east of Melbourne/Professor Day as an area to be intensified, and a few of the single-family homes in that area and along Barrie Street are now slated for intensification. The issue is with most of the land near the GO station being industrial land, and the town has gotten in trouble in the past for not providing enough industrial land. There's also still the fact that Bridge Street is a traffic sewer that unloads much of its traffic onto Dissette Street, creating a wall of congestion between the GO station and the town.
 
Adding HOV lanes in the newly constructed express lanes on the 401in Mississauga was such a foolish idea. I don't think there should be HOV lanes anywhere on the express/ collectors portions of the 401.

Actually I'd love to see a continuous HOV lane on the 401's entire length through Greater Toronto... maybe all the way from Highway 8 in Kitchener to the 35/115 interchange. This would be done by converting the leftmost lane to HOV- not a new build. That is politically challenging.

To make this happen however I'd prefer there to always be 3 general purpose lanes in the express in addition to the HOV. That's not how the new stretch is being built in Mississauga, and you certainly can't retrofit one into most of the older stretches without significant reconstruction. Still, if you went away with the buffer you could put this in and the spots in the express where there are 4 lanes would be down to 3, but the main bits are 3 lanes and they'd go down to 2. You could also install signage that trucks are prevented from passing in the express, never permitted in the leftmost general lane.
-That could congest the outer lane(s) however since you will now have more truck traffic to deal with transferring in and out of the express.

How did the HOV experiment for the Pan-Am games work on the 401? That could be used as a case study. I know that was only at certain times of day and was 3 people minimum but it would still be interesting to take a look at, assuming there is suffient information.
 
Highway 11 is the only way east from the Bradford area, and will be the fastest route to the 400 for thousands of new residents of East Gwillimbury. Right now there IS no alternative that doesn't involve crossing the Holland River.

It's Simcoe Rd. 4. Calling it Hwy. 11 doesn't even make sense as it doesn't relate to the present 11 north of Barrie at all.
 

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