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| quote: | Originally posted by DigiNut
2 minutes, LOL!!! 2 minutes is what it costs when some stoner takes 30 seconds to rev up at the advance green and I miss my turn!
Even at 4 AM, with no traffic on the roads, just going from around Dufferin to the DVP on the Gardiner saves more than 2 minutes taking Lakeshore from Bathurst or Spadina just due to the lights. That's not even counting other drivers on the roads.
The article refers to "waterfront planners" - I wonder if this includes any traffic engineers?
I think a huge part of the problem is that people are comparing the commute time on the Gardiner now compared to other roads and simply pretending (or believing with unfathomable naivete) that this will be exactly how much longer everybody's commute will be. They somehow manage to ignore that the traffic that would have been on the Gardiner still has to go somewhere, and that factor by itself is likely to double or triple the city commute time.
Even worse, when major intersections are very close together (which they are, downtown), traffic congestion can eventually reach a saturation point where the slowdown becomes more exponential than linear. If the interval between lights isn't long enough for all of the cars within that stretch to get through the intersection, you end up with a cumulative pile-up AKA total gridlock.
TWO MINUTES... haha, even the Star was cynical about that figure! Where do they find these people!? |
I think 2 minutes was the cherry coated topping estimate given by the initial planners. The Environmental Assessment of the area is expected to flesh that out into a more realistic figure. Too bad it's supposed to take another 5 years just to come up with.
For those who are worried about what implications the removal of the Gardiner will have without a viable alternative to re-route traffic, you needn't worry since most of us, and surely the planners of this monster probably won't be alive by the time a shovel is put into the ground.
It's no suprise some members of the public feel a general cynicism about the whole issue given that the city has been 'talking' about this now for more than 10 years with barely anything seeing the light of day. That goes for the Waterfront as well.
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Palm Trees > Pine Trees , Sand > Snow
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