Highways in Canada

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

I prefer concrete highways. It may feel less comfortable to drive than Asphalt, hence it's a lot more durable.

I agree. I prefer driving on concrete expressways as well. The part of Montreal's network that has been constructed with a concrete riding surface is probably the best part of its network (with the possible extension of A-30 of course).

[1overcosc]

Doesn't concrete have more serious lifespan issues than asphalt though? Concrete may last longer, but I'm under the impression that when it does need replacing, its an expensive and difficult job, whereas asphalt highways can be kept in great shape simply by repaving every 20-25 years.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

My dad has recounted some of his Chinese highway experiences. "And not a fuck was given that day" would be a pretty accurate bumper sticker for most Chinese drivers. Rules schmooles.

Pretty much. The sad thing is a lot of places have really amazing highway infrastructure, but the horrid drivers ruin it. If everybody (or even most people) were willing to follow the rules, traffic would flow MUCH more smoothly than it currently does.

My favourite thing about Chinese expressways is that the central median has tall barriers (either hedges or fences) that block the headlights from oncoming traffic, so you can drive at night with your brights on without having to worry about blinding oncoming traffic (not that the Chinese care about that - which is another of my pet peeves about Chinese drivers).

[middeljohn]

It's odd how even within Canada peoples' driving habits are different depending on the city. For some reason I expected Albertans to be more reckless on the road, however it's quite the opposite. For the most part people here handle the speed limit as the actual maximum, and generally travel about 5 below within the city. Of course, for me coming from Toronto it's a bit annoying at times, since I'm used to flow of traffic being 10 over when it's moving. But then again, they also give you a turn to merge here which is a good difference.

[thefew32]

Damn I hope the above post gets deleted. To the poster: just because you can write something down and post it, doesn't mean you should.

[middeljohn]

It has nothing to do with ethnicity. Different countries have different habits that are deemed "acceptable", so if someone learned to drive and spent 30 years driving somewhere else, they're going to bring those same habits here. I learned to weave in Toronto, which isn't really that common here.

With freeways being relatively new in Edmonton, I find a lot of people have no idea how you're supposed to drive on them, since they weren't properly taught how to merge, when to use the left lane etc. It's somewhat infuriating that half the time I try to get on the Henday I'm stuck behind someone still going 60 in the merging area. Or when people don't match the speed of my lane when their switching lanes. The best way around these situations is pretty much just to make sure I always have tons of space in front of so I have enough time to accelerate or brake safely.

[Denscity]

I'm not sure about slow drivers in Alberta. At least on highways not "in town". It's a speedway on Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton.

[Kokkei Mizu]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

It's odd how even within Canada peoples' driving habits are different depending on the city. For some reason I expected Albertans to be more reckless on the road, however it's quite the opposite. For the most part people here handle the speed limit as the actual maximum, and generally travel about 5 below within the city. Of course, for me coming from Toronto it's a bit annoying at times, since I'm used to flow of traffic being 10 over when it's moving. But then again, they also give you a turn to merge here which is a good difference.

The reason people go so slow in the cities in Alberta is because we have photo radar. People are getting tickets for going 5 over in Edmonton, for example.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by thefew32

Damn I hope the above post gets deleted. To the poster: just because you can write something down and post it, doesn't mean you should.

Why ? You're referring to the driving in China I presume ?

Have you ever been here ? If you had, you'd have plenty of stories just like those being related.

Driving in China is an absolute clusterfuck. Wrong side of the road, no such thing as a shoulder check (just veer on over ! Look later) horns are ceaseless and rarely actually accomplish anything , no idea what turning priority means, no clue what lane discipline is, nobody seems to know that you can go drive faster than 30 kph, and pedestrians who don't even bother to look before crossing the road (not to mention standing in the middle of it) and parking seems to require a team of trained experts to guide the driver in. Like 1% of the population seems to know how to parallel park. Nor does anybody seem to understand that just because they want to stop and get a drink it's rather inconsiderate to just park your car in the middle of the street while you drop in quickly.

The real kicker is that getting your license here is considerably more expensive than it is in Canada. Not to mention that everybody in some jurisdictions must go to driving school to get their license. Doesn't seem to make any difference.

Now, it should be pointed out that in the bigger cities (the showcase cities) the driving is better. Unfortunately, we're only talking about Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou for the most part. It basically gets better as the cities get bigger. By the time you get to a city of under a couple million you're pretty much in a driving free-for-all. The irony is that Chinese roads and highways (all the new stuff) is absolutely perfect. Amazing actually. Beautifully landscaped, well designed, smooth as silk.

If this offends you then ...well, sorry but that's what driving is like in China.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Mister F

That's just the thing though, highways do generate traffic all by themselves. With more road capacity people drive farther and more often than they would have if the road weren't there. On top of that, highways drive demand for new car dependent development and accelerate sprawl.

No, they don't just "produce traffic all by themselves."

You missed the whole point. The reason that building roads leads to increased congestion isn't simply because cars magically spring from the ground and start driving back and forth on the highway. The reason is because building the road facilitates suburban growth. As those new areas are built further and further out are why people spend more time and travel further to get from A to B. If you were to put a moratorium on all new suburban growth and kept the zoning basically the same , were there no population growth all you'd be doing is taking traffic from surface streets and putting it on the freeways. No more or less congestion. If you took the exact same population and spread it out into single family homes THEN you'd get more congestion.

Building highways and freeways or expanding them only leads to greater and greater congestion because you're literally paving the way for it. No new suburbs and industrial parks to travel to and from and lane expansions would do exactly what they're supposed to do.

[thefew32]

Originally Posted by Spocket

/

If this offends you then ...well, sorry but that's what driving is like in China.

Driving in China doesn't offend me. Stereotyping Chinese drivers in Canada does.

[sa230e]

Getting back on topic, here's the latest progress on the Herb Gray Parkway in Windsor, ON.

• Video Link

[haljackey]

Yay finally some progress at the EC Row expressway!

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Not a highway but a big artery. I made a road in SimCity 4 inspired by University Avenue in Toronto.





Bonus zoom out with highways:

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by thefew32

Driving in China doesn't offend me. Stereotyping Chinese drivers in Canada does.

Who was doing that? I was referring specifically to my experiences driving IN CHINA.

[SignalHillHiker]

There was another post after yours that was deleted, Chemist. I believe that's the one that caused all offense, not yours.

[ssiguy]

I have always loved University Ave in Toronto.

Maybe I'm ill informed but I would say it's the only true grand blvd in the classic sense of the word, that Canada has.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

I have always loved University Ave in Toronto.

Maybe I'm ill informed but I would say it's the only true grand blvd in the classic sense of the word, that Canada has.

I like it too. It's too bad that its sidewalks aren't often very busy like such streets usually are in most of the world's big cities.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Doesn't concrete have more serious lifespan issues than asphalt though? Concrete may last longer, but I'm under the impression that when it does need replacing, its an expensive and difficult job, whereas asphalt highways can be kept in great shape simply by repaving every 20-25 years.

The concrete roads leading up Burnaby Mountain to Simon Fraser University are being replaced for the first time in almost 50 years. That's amazing longevity for a heavily used road; one of the few in Metro Vancouver that experiences freeze-thaw cycles in winter. The road also experiences a greater proportion of heavy vehicles than normal roads, at least over the last decade. The massive increase in transit service to the university in the mid-2000s, particularly the extensive use of over-loaded 60' articulated buses, was matched by almost non-stop use by heavy-duty construction vehicles and dump trucks for campus expansion and the construction of the UniverCity residential neighbourhood. The slabs just got more and more cracked while the expansion joints widened and widened. (thump... thump... THUMP... thump-rattle... thump-rattle...)

[Innsertnamehere]

MTO seems to have finally made the switch to concrete highways. Most new projects over the last decade or so have been concrete. 401 widening in Windsor, 404 extension, 410 extension, etc. are all concrete.

[haljackey]

It all depends on the price and availability of concrete and asphalt.

Using concrete as a base for new projects means it can easily be paved over with asphalt when the surface starts to wear. Much of the original 400-Series highways in Ontario were concrete when they were first built, topped with asphalt later on.