Highways in Canada

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by esquire

Reminds me of driving around LA... traffic at a near standstill in the regular lanes while the HOV (minimum 2) lanes zip along at 60 mph + ... incredible how many cars there have just one person in them.

Kanata is a very car-centric place even by suburban standards. Transit ridership is way lower than anywhere else in Ottawa and many areas of Kanata don't even have off-peak bus service.

It's a very significant contrast to Orleans on the other side of Ottawa which is a model suburb for transit ridership with something like 20-25% of the population taking transit to work.

[sonysnob]

One of the things that I notice about some HOV lanes in Toronto (specifically the ones on the 404) is how frequently they are abused by single occupant motorists. I frequently travel towards the Lake in Toronto from my job in York Region after work, and it's not rare to see one in three (or more) of the vehicles traveling in the southbound HOV lane with only a single occupant.

I can't remember the last time I saw any enforcement.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

One of the things that I notice about some HOV lanes in Toronto (specifically the ones on the 404) is how frequently they are abused by single occupant motorists. I frequently travel towards the Lake in Toronto from my job in York Region after work, and it's not rare to see one in three (or more) of the vehicles traveling in the southbound HOV lane with only a single occupant.

I can't remember the last time I saw any enforcement.

They don't have cameras? I always thought HOV lanes had cameras that auto-detected if cars only had a single occupant and then issued mail tickets to those that did... seriously, it's 2015, such a thing is expected.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

One of the things that I notice about some HOV lanes in Toronto (specifically the ones on the 404) is how frequently they are abused by single occupant motorists. I frequently travel towards the Lake in Toronto from my job in York Region after work, and it's not rare to see one in three (or more) of the vehicles traveling in the southbound HOV lane with only a single occupant.

I can't remember the last time I saw any enforcement.

I don't drive the highways often enough to see this, but on the QEW in Burlington-Oakville I have noticed people using them for passing (and I'm not surprised, since some use the off-ramp and merge lanes the same way)

[Innsertnamehere]

I'm often amazed at how the urban HOVs are abused so little. Streets like Dufferin north of Steeles have Empty curb side HOVs that see very little abuse, considering how much congestion there can be in the two normal lanes.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

They don't have cameras? I always thought HOV lanes had cameras that auto-detected if cars only had a single occupant and then issued mail tickets to those that did... seriously, it's 2015, such a thing is expected.

That technology exists, but it costs a lot of money, not only to install, but to operate it and maintain it. In fact, most states with HOT lanes have found that most of the revenue that is generated from the tolling is spent simply installing and maintaining the tolling equipment itself.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

They don't have cameras? I always thought HOV lanes had cameras that auto-detected if cars only had a single occupant and then issued mail tickets to those that did... seriously, it's 2015, such a thing is expected.

If they did that they wouldnt be able to justify having so many OPP officers stationed in Ottawa. Its more of a union self protection measure.

If the 417 was created along the lines of almost any British highway speeding tickets would be automatically distributed, crashes wouldnt have to be reported because a control centre would know where and how bad it is, HOV could be enforced and the number of OPP in Ottawa could be reduced and rolled as a reactionary force and not a proactive force.

[Innsertnamehere]

Speed cameras should not return.

As for automatic ticketing, that may come as the lanes are converted to HOT lanes. HOT cameras will be required to determine if you get to ride free or get tolled to use the lane. Not quite ticketing, but people won't be riding free to use the HOVs anymore either.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Kanata is a very car-centric place even by suburban standards. Transit ridership is way lower than anywhere else in Ottawa and many areas of Kanata don't even have off-peak bus service.

It's a very significant contrast to Orleans on the other side of Ottawa which is a model suburb for transit ridership with something like 20-25% of the population taking transit to work.

Part of the low Kanata ridership is employment patterns. I believe something like 40% of the Kanata workforce is internal (versus maybe 10% in Orleans), and the transit network is atrocious when it comes to moving across Kanata. As a result, most cross-Kanata commutes are done by car.

Another factor is the orientation of Kanata is north-south, while for Ottawa as a whole it is east-west. That forces any transit service to branch away, which in turn reduces the frequency it can operate and prevents any possible clustering of ridership. Introducing LRT would not solve that problem at all there.

In many US cities, especially in the South, transit is almost non-existent in the suburbs, and Kanata would have better transit than the actual city itself...

[Taeolas]

Tolls proposed for 8 sections of Nova Scotia's Highways

If I'm reading right, the Tolls would be used to pay for twinning those highways. It would also mean that there would be a 4 lane highway all the way to Sydney (other than the Canso causeway) I think.

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Tolls proposed for 8 sections of Nova Scotia's Highways

If I'm reading right, the Tolls would be used to pay for twinning those highways. It would also mean that there would be a 4 lane highway all the way to Sydney (other than the Canso causeway) I think.

Not all of them would be twinned, probably. I could see twinning of the 104 to PH, along with completion of the 104 as a Super 2 to Sydney and downloading the 105 to become Trunk 5.

On the other hand, the 103 to Bridgewater seems OK, as does the 101 as far as Kingston or even Digby (Saint John ferry upgrade, maybe?). I don't like how they put two tolls on sections of road near each other. It would make more sense to put one toll on the 104 in New Glasgow and another on the 102 in Enfield, getting more traffic and not totally screwing over those on the way to CB with 3 tolls between them and NB.

[haljackey]

Canada's first diverging diamond is coming to Calgary

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1403629...d-interchange-with-traffic-on-left-side/

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Tolls proposed for 8 sections of Nova Scotia's Highways

If I'm reading right, the Tolls would be used to pay for twinning those highways. It would also mean that there would be a 4 lane highway all the way to Sydney (other than the Canso causeway) I think.

I support the idea of tolls but the clumping of them is a bit worrisome.

IMO it could work if;

1) The Folly Pass toll stays where it is.

2) There is another 104 toll between New Glasgow & Antigonish.

3) A third toll on the upgraded Trunk 4 on Cape Breton.

4) Since the Canso Causeway can't be twinned easily there may be an economic case to build a high-level bridge to replace it. If this were to happen a toll could be installed and maybe those coming from the other tolls could get a free pass due to their relatively close proximity?

5) The proposed toll on 103 is fine but I would try to place it on the far side of Chester to avoid the Halifax commutershed which would just take Trunk 3 as an alternative to paying $8/day.

6) the 101 could support two tolls. One before Windsor (around St. Croix) to pay for the expensive twinning required, and one further down on the other side of the Valley just past Digby provided there are upgrades down there. If a bridge is chosen to replace the Windor causeway a bridge toll could replace the St. Croix toll.

7) The 107 toll is acceptable provided it is placed in the long promised Burnside Expressway. This would be a commuter toll (as opposed to the long-distance tolls above) so demand pricing with HOV discounts would be effective.

The province already has a nice automated system to get people to pay tolls (the MACPASS) so expanding this across the province should be easy and make the tollbooths congestion free.

[haljackey]

Highway 401 extension / Herb Grey Parkway set to open next week

Main thread:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=188722

Story:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/herb-gray-parkway-only-days-away-from-opening-to-traffic

Some pics:

[libtard]

Incredibly nice highway. Reminds me of I-696.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by libtard

Incredibly nice highway. Reminds me of I-696.

It is like I-696, except it has parkland and bike trails surrounding the full length, hence the "Parkway" title.

[sa230e]

From the HGParkway youtube channel:

Westbound:
• Video Link

Eastbound:
• Video Link

[Dmajackson]

Highway 118 - Atlantic Canada's only collector/express system;


Halifax Developments Blog (Photo by David Jackson)

[ssiguy]

Thanks for those Windsor update.

I very rarely used the 401 to get to the US as the 402 was always more convenient but I know Huron Church could be hell especially due to the transport traffic. It will be a relief to Windsorites to finally get them off the local roads.

[sonysnob]

A couple of photos of Highway 427 in northern Etobicoke. The MTO is currently constructing HOV lanes along this portion of freeway: