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New Diamond lanes on 400 highways
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| Jayx1 |
Such a dumb idea. All this work and we still have a bottlenecking problem at the dvp and 401. Where the 2 lanes needed to be widened to 3 or 4, they have instead used that space for HOV lanes. To make things worse the HOV lanes end and the whole highway still ends up being 2 lanes. WHAT A STUPID IDEA!!
And i think we can see why they made these HOV lanes in the first place. The OPP is just salivating over the $500 fines that have been imposed for using the lanes illegally.
Will this lighten the traffic load?
Id argue the answer is no
what they should have done is widen the 404 south to at least three lanes at the dvp and used the rest of the space for light rapid transit. But of course that would have taken political will, cost money, and not result in a potential cash cow for the OPP
| quote: |
If having company on the ride to work isn’t enough to inspire drivers to carpool, new lanes that could help them get to work faster just might.
Two sections of roadway, on two of the G.T.A.’s busiest highways, will be designated carpool lanes as of December 13th.
Located on the left side of the roadway, the lanes will open on parts of Highway 403 and Highway 404.
The special lanes will only be available to vehicles with two or more passengers, and single motorists caught driving on them will face fines ranging from $60 to $500, and potentially three demerit points.
Ontario Provincial Police officers will be out in force to nab such offenders.
"We'll be ready, and we think this is a terrific thing," said O.P.P. Sgt. Cam Woolley.
Started by the province’s Ministry of Transportation, the impetus behind the $100 million pilot project is to ease gridlock by encouraging fewer cars.
"For example, on Highway 403 during rush hour, there are on average 70,000 cars that pass through with only person in them," said provincial Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar. "What that means is about 21,000 seats are going empty."
Called the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (H.O.V. lanes), they’ll be about 14 kilometres in length, and are expected to cut motorists’ travel time in half.
They'll be separated from the regular lanes by a buffer zone, and clearly marked with diamonds.
Among those vehicles allowed to use the lanes: buses, emergency vehicles, taxis with passengers, and trucks less than 6.5 metres in length with at least two people inside.
Cars must also have at least two people inside, and motorcyclists must be carrying a passenger to be able to use the lanes |
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| Euphorica |
| I agree. It is stupid!!!! |
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| Jayx1 |
id like to see them use the hydro corridor just south of eglinton at the DVP that runs all the way up to the 401 past scarborough as a highway and transit corridor. That would alleviate a lot of traffic issues on part of the DVP and 401.
But even if it somehow got proposed every NIMBY group in the world would shut it down.
We need to get back to the days of expropriation. Nimbyism first saw its biggest "accomplishment" when they succeeded in shutting down all the freeway projects in the 70s. Since then they havnt looked back and we are screwed over more and more every day. |
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| Orko |
Instead of just making the high ways wider, which we have been doing since we started using high ways, are they not trying to get people to think differently?
If we just keep making highways wider and wider, people just continue down the same path, and more cars can be accomidated. This idea atleast allows people to be rewarded for putting more people in one car.
Making wider high ways is NOT the solution to our traffic problems. People really do have to start changing the way they travel, only then can we even start to decrease the volume of cars. |
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| chinamon |
definitely dumb. we already have slowass drivers with 2 or more passengers on the highway going 80km/h. now these same drivers will think its their right to drive in the fast lane.
they should just change all the speed limit signs to MINIMUM 120... maximum 100 is lame. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orko
Instead of just making the high ways wider, which we have been doing since we started using high ways, are they not trying to get people to think differently?
If we just keep making highways wider and wider, people just continue down the same path, and more cars can be accomidated. This idea atleast allows people to be rewarded for putting more people in one car.
Making wider high ways is NOT the solution to our traffic problems. People really do have to start changing the way they travel, only then can we even start to decrease the volume of cars. |
but when 5 lanes become 2 and then become 3 again we clearly have a planning problem. The highway should at least be widened to 3 lanes at that spot to alleviate some of the congestion. But otherwise i do agree with you.
What we need are:
a) more highways not just wider highways
b) more trains and subways
c) more frequent bus service and better routes in the suburbs
and ultimately
d) better planning. ALl the wasted space out there contributes to farther walking times and more car trips. We need more concentration of population or we might as well forget about even talking about transit. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by chinamon
definitely dumb. we already have slowass drivers with 2 or more passengers on the highway going 80km/h. now these same drivers will think its their right to drive in the fast lane.
they should just change all the speed limit signs to MINIMUM 120... maximum 100 is lame. |
id be happy with max 120 and minimum 100 with proper enforcement.
i saw something genious in argentina. They had 6 lane highways. The 2 right lanes were max 100 and min 90, the middle was max 110 and minimum 100 and the far left lanes were max 130 and min 120 and every few kilometres there were huge overhead signs that spelled out exactly what the min and max for each lanes were. |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
id be happy with max 120 and minimum 100 with proper enforcement.
i saw something genious in argentina. They had 6 lane highways. The 2 right lanes were max 100 and min 90, the middle was max 110 and minimum 100 and the far left lanes were max 130 and min 120 and every few kilometres there were huge overhead signs that spelled out exactly what the min and max for each lanes were. |
That would be better idea, rather than all lanes be max 120 and min100. I know people like my mother, have a very hard time driving faster than 100, because its just scary for her. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orko
That would be better idea, rather than all lanes be max 120 and min100. I know people like my mother, have a very hard time driving faster than 100, because its just scary for her. |
no offense but your mom therefor should not be driving on a freeway. |
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| jdjd |
| They really need to have a cop at each accident looking for goddam accident watchers. Any that slows down to look at an accident gets a $100 ticket, now we're talking. |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
no offense but your mom therefor should not be driving on a freeway. |
haha, why did i see that coming?
If the speed limit is 100, and she drives that, no problem. It is when she drives below that speed, when even I yell at her. She keeps to the right lane, always, so its ok.
Thats why I said, the multilane, multispeed approach was good. Each driver can drive at the speed they are comfortable at. |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orko
Making wider high ways is NOT the solution to our traffic problems. People really do have to start changing the way they travel, only then can we even start to decrease the volume of cars. |
We don't NEED to decrease the volume of cars. What we need to do is build a transportation infrastructure that can support the actual population size in Toronto.
Our roads and highways have barely been upgraded at all since the '70s, and yet the population is what... 10 times as high now? Trying to force people to carpool or take public transit simply does not work and never will. Airhead environmentalists like to try to convince us that it will solve our traffic problems but really they just don't like cars and want them off the road.
Environmentalism is what seems to be behind this initiative, not intelligent urban planning. |
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