Hamilton's RING road.

[bornagainbiking]

Many cities have a outer circle of roads that go around the city to allow traffic to bypass the center or act as a link during peak periods.
For example the TransCanada runs thru Winnipeg on Portage Ave.
But they have a North and south ring road to assist truck traffic or access the outer industral or airport without driving thru the city.
I was just looking at the google map and we have one now sorta with the 403-QEW-RedHill-Linc-403. This is OK but not totally feasible on the North boundary as the part from 403 York exit back around to Burlington Street is way too far and on the other side of the harbourBurlington). Time, money and gas/diesel (pollution)wasted. not to mention seldom an option for these reasons.
If you look at the Google map closer, all that has to be done is increase the final stretch on Burlington from the Lakeport Brewery to around Locke and Cannon. To have a road end in a residential area is odd, especially just from one direction.
Rid the core of Big trucks No more truck traffic on Upper james or Victoria Ave.
As a side note if we were to get a pan-Am stadium it would aid traffic into town from East and West and not interfere with the regular city traffic. This is the road in question. Expand Stuart/Queen, just how to get from Burlington to Stuart???????????

[omro]

If the heavier vehicles were banned from going east/west through the city on certain roads, wouldn't this provide capacity? I'm regularly seeing large haulage trucks on Wilson and Cannon and Main (less so on King - narrower road?) which surely all can't have lower city destinations? Shouldn't these be taking the RedHill or one of the other larger highways?

A Ring Road only really works if people use it.

[adam]

I tend to think that once downtown has more activity these trucks will choose to use the highway to prevent delays. They will take whatever is quickest. Now that the Redhill and LINC are built, we don't need Main and King to be highways any more.

[Blurr]

maybe a pass could be built over the railway tracks from victoria/wellington (or wentworth or gage) all the way to the 403 and connect somewhere where york meets the 403.

[SteelTown]

Look up Perimeter Road and you'll see it got cancelled. Thank friggin god.

http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyre...ERIMETERRD.pdf

What we need to do is push council to re-do the trucking route, which City Hall is currently doing.

[Millstone]

Ring roads (beltways, whatever) definitely promote urban sprawl, and we'd have to demolish even more period homes for elevated freeways. It would look exactly like the Gardiner. I don't think this idea will be very popular in 2009.

Right now, the 403/QEW connection to the north provides the top of the ring, the bottom being the Linc and RHVP. I think any trucks taking Main St at this point probably need to be there, otherwise they'd be on the RHVP and Linc.

[bigguy1231]

If you expand the geographical area a little, you can see that we already have a ring road. That would include the Linc, RHVP, QEW and 403. The connection of the 403 and QEW in Burlington completes the ring.

If the province ever decides to build the Mid Peninsula highway that ring would be expanded further South to the airport. I believe they are doing preliminary work on that right now.

As for the Perimeter Rd. I don't think it was actually rejected, just shelved because of the cost. It could be revived in the future if there is a need. But with the ever shrinking industrial base I can't see there ever being a need.

[Spocket]

Ring roads are by-pass routes so whatever it was that was initially proposed for Hamilton wasn't really a ring or even a by-pass in the usual sense.

Unless something has changed , Hamilton is actually building a ring-road. For some reason it's not named at all on Google Maps but if memory serves it's highway 6 (the interchange between Southcote and Fiddler's Green...whatever that highway is called) Okay , it's not exactly a ring road but it would serve the same purpose. It's also not exactly set in stone yet where it's supposed to go or what it's supposed to connect to but the idea is there and in a piecemeal kinda way , it's coming together.

Just read through this :
http://www.myhamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyre...05_3766831.pdf

[bornagainbiking]

"I was just looking at the google map and we have one now sorta with the 403-QEW-RedHill-Linc-403. This is OK but not totally feasible on the North boundary as the part from 403 York exit back around to Burlington Street is way too far and on the other side of the harbour (Burlington)."
We have a ring but the issue is to get cross town to Hiway 6. If you live in the East or centre town it is faster to go down King. This congests the core and is stop-start (gas, brakes and emissions for pedestrians/bikers).
6 is an important route as it goes to Guelph, Owen Sound and Tobermory.
We need to restrict thru-town traffic for big trucks and open up Burlington street with less lights/intersections and divert or encourage trucks (traffic in general) to use one or two entrances at the east end for access from the RHVP, Eastport drive and QEW. This will provide a northern express route for a bypass. Victoria Street has seen a major reduction in volume. Put a bike lane there for a route to the HGH. From Main to Burlington.
I don't think bypasses promotes urban sprawl but allows traffic to get thru town that were not going to stop here anyway. This calms city streets and quiet thing down.
So if we designate and clean up Burlington and fix the exit at Wellington to Cannon and just use Cannon to the York off ramp.
I drive Burlington a fair bit and after Lakeport, that area has so much potential with all the waterfront development. Real chance for change.
Maybe with the marinas some of the empty nesters will move closer to walk to the boats. Anti urban sprawl and opposite to suburbs.