Highways in Canada

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

Autoroute des Laurentides (15), Laval, Qc by djipibi, on Flickr

It could be London (Ontario). It could be Atlanta. It could be Milton. Nowhere does Quebec do archetype North American suburb better than Laval. Even beats the Waste Island, the stomping grounds of my early years.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

It could be London (Ontario). It could be Atlanta. It could be Milton. Nowhere does Quebec do archetype North American suburb better than Laval. Even beats the Waste Island, the stomping grounds of my early years.

Can't be London. London may have a lot of sprawl but it lacks highways so it's not true generic suburban sprawl.

[ssiguy]

Also couldn't be London because at least London has a lot of trees.

[MolsonExport]

London is rather bereft of Trees. Toronto has a greater tree canopy/cover than London. The "forest city" moniker dates from the days long ago when a forest completely surrounded the city. Now it is the dumb centre and parking lot city.

[haljackey]

Cool photo of a basketweave on Ontario Highway 427.

Full size: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3894/15068724952_e4efd32412_o.jpg

[Klazu]

British Columbia saw recently some speed limit increases on around 1300 kilometers of rural highways. Here is a new beautiful speed signpost past Abbotsford, a sweet, sweet 110km/h (used to be a 100km/h). The limit changes to 120km/h past Hope.



Based on my experience the traffic is going at 115-120km/h, which is around the same as when the speed limit was still 100km/h. Now the speed limit just makes more sense, just like the study that suggested limit increases found.

[manny_santos]

It seems to me that Ontario's current speed limit on most 400-series highways resulted from the energy crisis of the 1970s, a time when cars were far less fuel efficient.

Whether it's the Beer Store or speed limits, Kathleen Wynne seems to like status quos and not having intelligent discussions over matters like this.

[RyLucky]

I was recently in the GTA, and I was surprised how fast everyone drove (when traffic was actually free to move). At times it seemed like the minimum speed was 20 km/h above the posted speed maximum! We hardly saw any cops or radar.

In Calgary, speed on green cameras and photo radar make it common to get a ticket in the mail if you go even 11 over. As a whole, the city drives much closer to what the speed limit is.

Thoughts?

[middeljohn]

Originally Posted by RyLucky

I was recently in the GTA, and I was surprised how fast everyone drove (when traffic was actually free to move). At times it seemed like the minimum speed was 20 km/h above the posted speed maximum! We hardly saw any cops or radar.

In Calgary, speed on green cameras and photo radar make it common to get a ticket in the mail if you go even 11 over. As a whole, the city drives much closer to what the speed limit is.

Thoughts?

This was one of the big differences I noticed after moving to Edmonton is how "slow" everyone drives. I've been driving around 15 over (ie flow of traffic) in Ontario for years and the only time I got a ticket was in a school zone. Took me a little while to adjust to AB flow of traffic.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Whether it's the Beer Store or speed limits, Kathleen Wynne seems to like status quos and not having intelligent discussions over matters like this.

It's not just the current government - issues like those have been percolating for years and years.

I doubt the status quo will change during Wynne's term though.

[Monctoncore]

Going fast and speed limits of 110 and people driving 115-120 Km/h is great, but you burn fuel much faster at those higher speeds, which in turn means you have to fill up more so, yes its great and I am one who drives those speeds, but in the end it sucks because you ended up spending more on fuel in a month.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by Klazu

British Columbia saw recently some speed limit increases on around 1300 kilometers of rural highways. The limit changes to 120km/h past Hope.

[Klazu]

Beautiful.

They should though bring the speed limit down for winter. Coquihalla and the other interior highways are killers for car winshields with so may rock flying at those speeds.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Beautiful.

They should though bring the speed limit down for winter. Coquihalla and the other interior highways are killers for car winshields with so may rock flying at those speeds.

They're introducing variable speed limits on the Coq, Sea to Sky and parts by Golden.

Not sure if they'll be in by this winter though, but the variable limits were included in the speed limit review.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

They're introducing variable speed limits on the Coq, Sea to Sky and parts by Golden.

Well that's good news and makes sense. I just these would be electronically adjustable speed signs, but I guess that would be too high-tech in BC.

[ssiguy]

People in Western Canada tend to drive much slower than those in Ont/Que especially on the freeways. They also leave far greater spaces between the cars and don't turn nearly as fast on advanced green lights.

I have no idea why this is but the difference is quite noticeable. I've actually noticed the same thing in the US where those in the North East tend to drive much faster than those in the Western US regardless of the posted speed limits. Ont/Que definitely seem to drive much more aggressively and assertively than Western Canadians.

[GreaterMontréal]

In Montréal there are pretty much no police on the highways. 120kmh

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Well that's good news and makes sense. I just these would be electronically adjustable speed signs, but I guess that would be too high-tech in BC.

They will be. Here's the report that came out early July from the Province with all the speed limit changes and details of the review. Start at the bottom of page 9, and then jump ahead to page 14 - 16 for details on the changeable speeds planned here.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications/rep...al_Hwy_Safety-Speed_Review_technical.pdf

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by RyLucky

Is speeding enforced in your city?

We actually have a dedicated thread about this on the Vancouver forum. My experience is that speed enforcement is almost non-existent in Metro Vancouver, but people claim to have seen police cars with radars. I also occasionally hear about those on the radio (one thing that I cannot understand as an European), but they are rare and you cannot see their effect on the traffic flow, which is most of the time speeding.

Originally Posted by ssiguy

People in Western Canada tend to drive much slower than those in Ont/Que especially on the freeways. They also leave far greater spaces between the cars and don't turn nearly as fast on advanced green lights.

I cannot compare to Eastern Canada, but if that is the case, then people in Toronto and Montreal must be driving like crazy! Drivers in Metro Vancouver drive with crazy speeds on our highways and seeing speeding of 30km/h over the speed limit is commonplace.

Many drivers also tailgate you on highways and any space you leave between you and the car in front of you will be soon taken by someone. My overall impression of the general traffic laws obeyance in British Columbia is very poor.

I am pretty sure it is partly due to the amount of people from very different traffic cultures in our area. Statistics show that areas with certain demographic have much more traffic accidents and reckless driving than others.

[libtard]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

People in Western Canada tend to drive much slower than those in Ont/Que especially on the freeways. They also leave far greater spaces between the cars and don't turn nearly as fast on advanced green lights.

I have no idea why this is but the difference is quite noticeable. I've actually noticed the same thing in the US where those in the North East tend to drive much faster than those in the Western US regardless of the posted speed limits. Ont/Que definitely seem to drive much more aggressively and assertively than Western Canadians.

I always found it funny crossing back into Ontario from NY State. Drivers in ON were BOOKING it on the highways compared to NY.