TCH east of Nipigon (La route transcanadienne à l'est de Nipigon) - Page 47

Ottawaresident · #**921** Posted **Feb 5, 2019, 3:45 PM**

That route doesn't need too much upgrading, although the section in and around Mattawa needs fixing.

sonysnob · #**922** Posted **Feb 5, 2019, 6:34 PM**

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that the intersection of Highways 17 and 94 is going to get traffic signals this summer.

I know they had been considering a roundabout at this location, but I think they ended up deciding that signals were the best bet at this location.

swimmer_spe · #**923** Posted **Feb 6, 2019, 4:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonysnob

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that the intersection of Highways 17 and 94 is going to get traffic signals this summer.

I know they had been considering a roundabout at this location, but I think they ended up deciding that signals were the best bet at this location.

Did they learn their lesson in Mattawa?

Loco101 · #**924** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 3:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonysnob

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that the intersection of Highways 17 and 94 is going to get traffic signals this summer.

I know they had been considering a roundabout at this location, but I think they ended up deciding that signals were the best bet at this location.

I had heard the same thing. Traffic signals are cheaper so I'm not surprised.

sonysnob · #**925** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 2:37 PM**

By the sounds of things, they are doing some fairly extensive reconstruction through the intersection, so I don't think they elected to build traffic signals solely based on price considerations.

https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/work-...busy-highway-intersection-safety-1198572

Dengler Avenue · #**926** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 3:06 PM**

If the intersection gets out of hand in the future even with the traffic light (like 17/60 right now), what will MTO do though? Just leaving it as is? Or round-about?

It's pretty impressive that the outskirts of North Bay are growing.

swimmer_spe · #**927** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

If the intersection gets out of hand in the future even with the traffic light (like 17/60 right now), what will MTO do though? Just leaving it as is? Or round-about?

It's pretty impressive that the outskirts of North Bay are growing.

It will likely stay a traffic light till it gets 4 laned.

swimmer_spe · #**928** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 4:02 PM**

Finally, some good news from the province.

https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/trans...s-support-for-hwy-69-four-laning-1230525

Dengler Avenue · #**929** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Finally, some good news from the province.

https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/trans...s-support-for-hwy-69-four-laning-1230525

Yo that's big.

It's good to hear that Highway 400 Extension has passed ONPC's line-by-line review.

Ottawaresident · #**930** Posted **Feb 7, 2019, 6:11 PM**

Yeah, Sudbury should get a real freeway connection.

Ottawaresident · #**931** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 3:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

It will likely stay a traffic light till it gets 4 laned.

Might even stay that way even after they 4 lane it! Although I think they don't build lights anymore, I think they prefer roundabouts.

Dengler Avenue · #**932** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 4:16 PM**

A question for swimmer_spe and wave46 though: Is North Bay growing? If yes, what's prompting such growth?

swimmer_spe · #**933** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 4:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawaresident

Might even stay that way even after they 4 lane it! Although I think they don't build lights anymore, I think they prefer roundabouts.

A divided highway with a roundabout?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

A question for swimmer_spe and wave46 though: Is North Bay growing? If yes, what's prompting such growth?

It is fairly stagnant. When I was a kid, it was 52,000. It grew to 56,000, but now back to 52,000.

Dengler Avenue · #**934** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 4:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

A divided highway with a roundabout?

Nah Ottawaresident meant the current alignment of TCH. Remember how the (distant) future “417” will be constructed on a completely new alignment between North Bay and Nippising/Renfrew Boundary?

Quote:

It is fairly stagnant. When I was a kid, it was 52,000. It grew to 56,000, but now back to 52,000.

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there’s any prospect/hope for the 5 cities in the north...

sonysnob · #**935** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 4:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

A divided highway with a roundabout?

A divided highway with a roundabout:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Collin...8338ba720!8m2!3d44.5007687!4d-80.2169047

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Collin...8338ba720!8m2!3d44.5007687!4d-80.2169047

swimmer_spe · #**936** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 4:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Nah Ottawaresident meant the current alignment of TCH. Remember how the (distant) future “417” will be constructed on a completely new alignment between North Bay and Nippising/Renfrew Boundary?

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there’s any prospect/hope for the 5 cities in the north...

After what they did with Mattawa, I doubt they will actually do anything more than put lights at the intersection.

As far as the cities, they are stable. What is needed is a divested economy up here. Most jobs are either forestry, mining or government.

wave46 · #**937** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 6:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

A question for swimmer_spe and wave46 though: Is North Bay growing? If yes, what's prompting such growth?

Not really.

The population has hovered around the ~50-55k mark since 1981. It peaked at ~55k in 1991 and wobbled downwards to ~52k in 2016.

North Bay has mostly been a government town after the heyday of the railway passed. The biggest drive of growth post 1960 has been the military base (CFB North Bay, where Canadian NORAD operations take place) and government offices/services/universities/colleges.

The cuts of the 1990s in the military reduced their role (the breakup of the USSR didn't help) and Ontario government cuts in the 1990s didn't help either.

Any 'growth' in North Bay is mostly centred around it being a decent retirement destination. It's still got a small-town vibe, is relatively inexpensive and decently located for trips to Sudbury, Ottawa and Toronto.

Dengler Avenue · #**938** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 6:48 PM**

"Any 'growth' in North Bay is mostly centred around it being a decent retirement destination. It's still got a small-town vibe, is relatively inexpensive and decently located for trips to Sudbury, Ottawa and Toronto."

True we had a talk about this a few pages back. So does that mean that, if I stop by Corbeil/Callander/Marshall Park/North Bay for whatever reason, I should be expecting grannies and gramps for the most part? I also wonder if that's also why people objected to the idea of a roundabout at 17/94.

wave46 · #**939** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 6:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there’s any prospect/hope for the 5 cities in the north...

Resource-based hinterlands have been suffering across the country, outside of agricultural areas. Northern NB, the outports of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, the small towns of northern Manitoba are some examples.

I'd say the biggest at-risk city is the Sault. Essar Steel has wobbled into and out of bankruptcy repeatedly. There will come a day when the government doesn't bail it out and decides to wash its hands of the whole affair. That will hurt.

The cities with the best prospects are Sudbury and Thunder Bay. They're both largish regional centres with enough sway to attract people to work, study and live there, so that will keep them slowly growing (or not declining at least). Sudbury has the advantage of being a lower-cost region for Ottawa to outsource menial government services to - hence why the CRA is expanding there (yay bilingual population).

Timmins will be the quintessential Northern town/city. It pretty much epitomizes the economy of Northern Ontario - forestry, mining and government. If gold prices stay high, Timmins will do ok. If commodity prices tank, Timmins will hurt.

North Bay is a government and retirement town. As government goes, so does North Bay. I suspect it will be spared the worst of upcoming cuts, as Vic Fideli doesn't want to poison his chance for re-election.

wave46 · #**940** Posted **Feb 8, 2019, 7:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

True we had a talk about this a few pages back. So does that mean that, if I stop by Corbeil/Callander/Marshall Park/North Bay for whatever reason, I should be expecting grannies and gramps for the most part? I also wonder if that's also why people objected to the idea of a roundabout at 17/94.

It's not Elliot Lake, which doesn't have any other raison d'etre other than to be a retirement town after the mines closed.

It has a decent cadre of young students for Nipissing University and Canadore College.

It has the CFB, regional hospital and Ontario government offices that employ the middle-aged population, along with other private employers. So, there's a decent amount of working age population in the city.

I don't think the choice of lights vs. a roundabout had much to do with demographics, but more that the intersection is biased towards flow on 17 versus allowing an easy merge from lower volume 94. A roundabout has the disadvantage of slowing down through traffic regardless of if there's any need to.