Highway 1 Improvements, 216th to 264th | U/C

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by madog222

Different project mate. That might be obvious if you posted more than just a link.

How many different projects are there to widen Highway 1 between 216th and 264th??? There's the one in this article, there's another one according to you... maybe that's the problem, there are competing projects and they're just getting in each others way!

[Metro-One]

Phase 3A and 3B out to highway 11 are technically different projects, but it’s all a continuous highway expansion of the #1, so essentially the same project.

The new 264 interchange design looks great and will definitely be the centerpiece of this project.

I’m just curious as to how the transition will work at 216th with the bus shoulder lanes.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I’m just curious as to how the transition will work at 216th with the bus shoulder lanes.

216th eastbound is very awkward today. There are 2 quick merges in a row to account for vehicles entering the highway and then the lane reduction. All this on a hill around a corner. I'm surprised we don't see more accidents there.

[M00dy]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Phase 3A and 3B out to highway 11 are technically different projects, but it’s all a continuous highway expansion of the #1, so essentially the same project.

The new 264 interchange design looks great and will definitely be the centerpiece of this project.

I’m just curious as to how the transition will work at 216th with the bus shoulder lanes.

Got a link to a design? I'd be interested to see it. (Sorry if I missed it in the thread)

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by M00dy

Got a link to a design? I'd be interested to see it. (Sorry if I missed it in the thread)

I don't know if this is the final design, but there is a diagram of the 264th Street Interchange on page 9 (PDF page 11) of the 2023 Discussion Guide:

DISCUSSION GUIDE – 2023 from 264th Street to Highway 11 Interchange (PDF)

[M00dy]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

I don't know if this is the final design, but there is a diagram of the 264th Street Interchange on page 9 (PDF page 11) of the 2023 Discussion Guide:

DISCUSSION GUIDE – 2023 from 264th Street to Highway 11 Interchange (PDF)

Thanks!

[craner]

Is there a reason they are not adding any additional general purpose lanes (currently 2 each direction - unchanged after expansion) ?

[madog222]

The traffic demand doesn't warrant a third general purpose lane here, it's a very rural stretch with mostly through traffic until the highway reaches Abbotsford. More lanes would only serve to encourage car centric urban sprawl which isn't part of the region's urban planning.

[Metro-One]

While I think that the new HOV Lane should be general purpose during non rush hours, the highway will also have considerably long climbing lanes and a legitimate bus shoulder lane too (not like the joke on the 99) so it is more than just adding an HOV lane.

Also the main issue with this stretch of highway has been the old accident prone interchanges which are getting completely re-built.

So, as I stated before this is overall a decent upgrade. A 7/10. For reference the Port Mann bridge / highway upgrade was a 9/10 and the SFPR was a 5/10.

[craner]

Originally Posted by madog222

The traffic demand doesn't warrant a third general purpose lane here, it's a very rural stretch with mostly through traffic until the highway reaches Abbotsford. More lanes would only serve to encourage car centric urban sprawl which isn't part of the region's urban planning.

This seems comical given that the highway hasn’t been expanded in 70 years and the population of the region has exploded by 500% in that time. Not to mention the highway is often in grid-lock is it not ?

[Klazu]

Ignore madog, as he clearly doesn't travel Highway 1. This stretch, like the entire highway up to Chilliwack, is already at capacity during most daylight hours of every single day. This expansion will be underbuilt soon after completion, just like the widened Highway 1 through Burnaby has been since completion. Everything this region builds is underbuilt and a decade late.

One can also ignore any fairy tale talk about induced demand as Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford and Chilliwack will continue to boom regardless of the number of lanes on the highway thanks to the out of control population growth. There is going to be 500,000 people living in those cities soon and it is always going to be suburban housing without any meaningful transit option. Thinking otherwise is just delusional.

[madog222]

Are the three lanes west of 216 insufficient? There is at maximum only one more through lane for the rest of the highway until the 2nd Narrows, you can't honestly believe there is equal need here than through the rest of Metro Vancouver.

[Metro-One]

The HOV Lane as far as I know will also be for EVs, given how many Teslas I saw in BC this summer, it will practically be a general lane.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

The HOV Lane as far as I know will also be for EVs...

********for now.

you really think they'll keep it that way as more people get into EVs? no way. just like BC Hydro rates will go up as more people use heat pumps, EVs, etc. any savings that exist now, wont in the next 20yrs.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Seems on-brand, Victoria's said the incentives are here to get everybody to switch to EVs - once all of BC is, why keep them?

[jollyburger]

EV don't need to meet the passenger requirement to use the HOV lanes as well.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Klazu

One can also ignore any fairy tale talk about induced demand as Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford and Chilliwack will continue to boom regardless of the number of lanes on the highway thanks to the out of control population growth. There is going to be 500,000 people living in those cities soon and it is always going to be suburban housing without any meaningful transit option. Thinking otherwise is just delusional.

One of these cities is getting Skytrain and Rapid Bus. And there's a lot of dense growth happening in the Valley in the form of townhouses and mid-rise apartment buildings. It just doesn't look like Brentwood.

I don't how wide the TCH would need to be to handle the surge in traffic on weekends. As for daily rush hour, adding climbing lanes and redoing problematic interchanges will make a positive impact. Another general purpose lane through the Valley would cost billions of dollars.

[Migrant_Coconut]

As of 2021, the number of Valley commuters (Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack) that actually commute outside of the FVRD is less than 22k/day; the Langleys, barely 3.5k.

Capacity of a six-lane road? 55k. Even including all the commuters headed east from Metro Van and the Sea to Sky, you'd need Abby to keep growing at 8% for the next ~50 years to warrant a fourth lane... and no amount of roadspace will clear the TCH up on weekends. Save those billions for something other than "one more lane" syndrome.

[Metro-One]

Upgrading the interchanges and removing the low clearance overhead structures are the two key factors in improving traffic along this corridor, which are both surprisingly properly being done.

The new 3rd HOV lane, longer truck climbing lanes and bus on (wide) shoulder system should be sufficient enough.

The modernization of this stretch will help out a lot.

[WarrenC12]

HOV lanes seem to be a bit of a failure on their own if you don't allow EVs and/or pay for access. They are empty and not enough people are willing to carpool for access.

We could see pay lanes come in after there are "too many" EVs.