Sandy Hill Truck Tunnel - Page 43

Ottawaresident · #**841** Posted **Jan 23, 2019, 3:13 PM**

Oh. Good to know!

roger1818 · #**842** Posted **Jan 24, 2019, 4:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityTech

Nicholas already is 4 lanes.

Normally yes, but temporarily 3 lanes because of the bus lane. Things get a bit congested with all the twists and turns to King Edward, so while technically 4 lanes, with wide turning trucks, it is more like 2.

Ottawaresident · #**843** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 1:30 PM**

They should at least divide it down the middle until Laurier. Maybe a straight road (tunnel) from that connects Nicholas and King Edward without turns could work

Acajack · #**844** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 1:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

They should at least divide it down the middle until Laurier. Maybe a straight road (tunnel) from that connects Nicholas and King Edward without turns could work

If you're talking about Nicholas St., it is already divided down the middle between the 417 all the way to Laurier. This segment actually feels and drives like a pseudo-expressway.

Nicholas is also divided north of Laurier but it's a bit of a messy configuration from that point on.

Ottawaresident · #**845** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 2:42 PM**

Like, a median? I don't remember that. Oh.

roger1818 · #**846** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 3:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

Like, a median? I don't remember that. Oh.

More of a small curb.

Acajack · #**847** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

More of a small curb.

Especially northbound, the "service level" has gotten really crappy on Nicholas with the bus lane limiting vehicular traffic to only a single lane, after a bit of a dicey merge.

Once the bus lane is removed though things will improve greatly.

I believe the speed limit is 80 kmh there for most of the distance between the 417 and Laurier. Though going north it drops quickly as you approach Laurier.

J.OT13 · #**848** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 4:34 PM**

Limit heading south form Laurier to the 417 is 60 km/h.

roger1818 · #**849** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 4:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Limit heading south form Laurier to the 417 is 60 km/h.

And northbound there is a "60km/h Begins" sign when you cross Mann Ave (though no indication what the speed limit is before that).

Acajack · #**850** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 4:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

And northbound there is a "60km/h Begins" sign when you cross Mann Ave (though no indication what the speed limit is before that).

I guess they reduced the speed limit then. Used to be 80.

J.OT13 · #**851** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 5:00 PM**

Makes sense while buses are using it. It will probably go back up to 80 km/h (or maybe a more cautious 70 km/h) once Line 1 opens. Doesn't matter much because most drivers fly through at 100 km/h, at least heading south towards the Queensway.

roger1818 · #**852** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 5:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

I guess they reduced the speed limit then. Used to be 80.

You are right. In 2015 it was 80, but dropped to 60 in 2016.

Ottawaresident · #**853** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 5:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

Especially northbound, the "service level" has gotten really crappy on Nicholas with the bus lane limiting vehicular traffic to only a single lane, after a bit of a dicey merge.

Once the bus lane is removed though things will improve greatly.

I believe the speed limit is 80 kmh there for most of the distance between the 417 and Laurier. Though going north it drops quickly as you approach Laurier.

Yeah. The thing is that Nicholas should have an interchange with Laurier. I used to go through there every week to go skiing and it is very congested there, even on early weekend mornings.

Acajack · #**854** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 5:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

Yeah. The thing is that Nicholas should have an interchange with Laurier. I used to go through there every week to go skiing and it is very congested there, even on early weekend mornings.

The entire routing between the 417 and the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge is problematic. Hence... this thread and several others.

YOWetal · #**855** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 6:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

Yeah. The thing is that Nicholas should have an interchange with Laurier. I used to go through there every week to go skiing and it is very congested there, even on early weekend mornings.

Interchange? Like traffic circle or overpass?

roger1818 · #**856** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 7:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

Yeah. The thing is that Nicholas should have an interchange with Laurier. I used to go through there every week to go skiing and it is very congested there, even on early weekend mornings.

Nicholas and Laurier is congested because it is the pinch point. Fix it and the pinch point will move to to the next street north and little will have changed.

The only ways to fix the problem are:

Divert the traffic to another route, or
Build an expressway through downtown that doesn't have any such pinch points.

Of course both of these options will end up only being temporary solutions as road improvements will induce more traffic.

Personally, I would take the radical approach of narrowing the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to 4 lanes as Ottawa streets can't handle the 6 lanes it currently has (and arguably the Autoroutes in Gatineau can't either, if you look at how congested they are). You would need to combine that with the twinning of the A-50 to Montreal to make that the preferred route from Gatineau to Montreal.

Acajack · #**857** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 8:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger1818

Nicholas and Laurier is congested because it is the pinch point. Fix it and the pinch point will move to to the next street north and little will have changed.

The only ways to fix the problem are:

Divert the traffic to another route, or
Build an expressway through downtown that doesn't have any such pinch points.

Of course both of these options will end up only being temporary solutions as road improvements will induce more traffic.

Personally, I would take the radical approach of narrowing the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to 4 lanes as Ottawa streets can't handle the 6 lanes it currently has (and arguably the Autoroutes in Gatineau can't either, if you look at how congested they are). You would need to combine that with the twinning of the A-50 to Montreal to make that the preferred route from Gatineau to Montreal.

The mess between the 417 and the M-C bridge, on all the routes (Nicholas-Waller-King Edward-St. Patrick-Vanier Pkwy) is not primarily caused by intercity traffic between Gatineau and Montreal.

Probably 90-95% of the traffic is totally local between the Ottawa and Gatineau areas.

Ottawaresident · #**858** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 8:24 PM**

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1...26924625280236%2C-75.68501253130876&z=14
I still can't paste photos. Also, yeah

roger1818 · #**859** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 8:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

The mess between the 417 and the M-C bridge, on all the routes (Nicholas-Waller-King Edward-St. Patrick-Vanier Pkwy) is not primarily caused by intercity traffic between Gatineau and Montreal.

Probably 90-95% of the traffic is totally local between the Ottawa and Gatineau areas.

That could be true when considering all vehicles. I wonder what percentage of trucks are travelling between Ottawa and Gatineau? They are the biggest problem. It doesn't make sense to have all of the Gatineau's freight funnel through central Ottawa.

roger1818 · #**860** Posted **Feb 1, 2019, 8:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1...26924625280236%2C-75.68501253130876&z=14
I still can't paste photos. Also, yeah

That seems to be a private link tied to your Google Account.

You can't just past photos in this forum. You need to have them hosted somewhere. Imgur is a popular choice. You don't even need to create an account and it will even give you the BB code to paste into the forum to display the picture.