Ontario Highways

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by wave46

The stretch from the 403-401 could definitely become a RIRO-style 'freeway'. Eliminating stop lights and left turns could do a bit for safety on that stretch. It would likely involve some expropriation, though.

Simplistically speaking though, if MTO has to demolish properties, it may as well demolish enough to turn 6 into a proper freeway between Hamilton and Guelph. Perhaps even Fergus as it and Elora seems to be becoming commuter towns for Guelph. (During rush hour, 6 does see heavy traffic between Guelph and Fergus.)

Originally Posted by megadude

I assume Highway 6 has been discussed on the Canada forum but I haven't been a member for very long and I thought I'd bring it up here as I recently drove on it a couple of times to go fishing at Valens.

What a joke this stretch of road is. I've driven on 6 maybe seven times in my life. Mostly from 403 up to Puslinch. A couple times from 401 to Guelph. And last year once from Wiarton to Tobermory.

That stretch between 403 and 401 is a disaster. People treat it as if it's a 400 series highway when the speed limit is 80. I refuse to go past 90 and I still feel like I'm going at a snail's pace. Non stop procession of cars passing me. And it's actually kind of scary because when I'm trying to find my destination as someone who is unfamiliar with the area, whether it's RR97 or a gas station, I want to slow down because I know it's coming up soon, but at the same time I don't want to cause traffic chaos.

And as someone in a large but under-powered car, it sure is an adventure when I'm trying to turn onto Hwy. 6 from a stop sign.

So for people who are familiar with this section, why does it seem nothing is being done about it? Where is the enforcement? Do you know if locals generally agree that it's a problem road?

There are so many idiotic drivers here. These people know there are people who have to turn onto the highway from a standing start. They know there are dozens of houses and businesses lining the road. They know people have to slow down and exit the highway. Yet the drivers there have no regard.

This is the closest thing, along with the 35/115, I can think of when comparing to those terrible roads in the US, particularly US Hwy 1. You know, where cars are doing highway speed, but still have to exit or turn into businesses at 90 degree angles and don't have the benefit of off ramps and in some cases, not even right turn only or merge lanes.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...209059&page=26 #516

[megadude]

Thanks for the input.

It's places like these and 400 highways and various roads to cottage country in Georgian Bay and Kawarthas make me wish I was a traffic cop, whose only job was to bust people doing moronic things on the road.

There are aggressive drivers and there are drivers who have their minds on cruise control and can't utilize one more atom in their brain to figure out how their driving is affecting others.

Why is it that they can't appoint a single cruiser to station itself at the side of the road as a deterrent to show people that "we're watching you". That'll make people think twice. Maybe not every day. But once every three or four days, to keep people in check. Keep it in the back of their mind.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by megadude

Thanks for the input.

It's places like these and 400 highways and various roads to cottage country in Georgian Bay and Kawarthas make me wish I was a traffic cop, whose only job was to bust people doing moronic things on the road.

There are aggressive drivers and there are drivers who have their minds on cruise control and can't utilize one more atom in their brain to figure out how their driving is affecting others.

Why is it that they can't appoint a single cruiser to station itself at the side of the road as a deterrent to show people that "we're watching you". That'll make people think twice. Maybe not every day. But once every three or four days, to keep people in check. Keep it in the back of their mind.

Oh yea I forgot to say. One night heading back to KW via 6, past intersection with 5, I saw a Hamilton police cruiser sitting at the median. But it was Hamilton police! When we were in Puslinch, I had to remind the driver it’s a 60-kph zone. (He was going 100.) Knowing how fierce OPPWest is, I had to remind him in case an unmarked cruiser was actually hiding somewhere.

The only time I saw OPP was a while back when I saw 2 of them going north with lights on (but sirens off).

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Oh yea I forgot to say. One night heading back to KW via 6, past intersection with 5, I saw a Hamilton police cruiser sitting at the median. But it was Hamilton police! When we were in Puslinch, I had to remind the driver it’s a 60-kph zone. (He was going 100.) Knowing how fierce OPPWest is, I had to remind him in case an unmarked cruiser was actually hiding somewhere.

The only time I saw OPP was a while back when I saw 2 of them going north with lights on (but sirens off).

They're actually around quite a lot on Hwy 6.

There are a few places OPP and Hamilton police like to sit with the radar. Most of the 4-lane portion of the highway is dead-straight but there are hills and they'll nab the speeders coming over them, or hide out on a concession where they can't be seen until you're right there. Another juicy spot is the one you mention at Maddaugh Rd just after the road narrows to 2 lanes and drops from 80 km/h to 60, and the trees give them some cover on the sideroad. Just south of Morriston is another one, where there's another speed limit change.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

They're actually around quite a lot on Hwy 6.

There are a few places OPP and Hamilton police like to sit with the radar. Most of the 4-lane portion of the highway is dead-straight but there are hills and they'll nab the speeders coming over them, or hide out on a concession where they can't be seen until you're right there. Another juicy spot is the one you mention at Maddaugh Rd just after the road narrows to 2 lanes and drops from 80 km/h to 60, and the trees give them some cover on the sideroad. Just south of Morriston is another one, where there's another speed limit change.

Now I remember:
Last summer, I was driving my friend to Point Peele. We were gonna use the 401 but halfway in we got forced off due to closure. Now we were on old Highway 3 (Elgin County Road 3, City of Chatham-Kent Road 3, Essex County Road 34).
I was going 96 kph in an 80 kph zone as usual. (I more or less go 20% over in good weather.)
Then, I saw an OPP cruiser, sitting right under a tree next to the EB lanes.
That caught me off guard.
Ps: I also saw a CK police pull a motorcyclist earlier on too.

[megadude]

This reminds me of circa 2001. A bunch of us were driving from Windsor back home and we were in the CK area. Some early 20s douche was driving like an Impala or something and blew right by us. Could see him weaving in and out behind us and continued to do the same after he passed us. Dude was smiling too.

But we remembered that a couple minutes before this, an unmarked cruiser passed us. We were praying that he'd fly right by him when he catches up. And sure enough, a couple minutes later OPP's got him pulled over on the shoulder and we beeped twice and shouted "karma, bitch!".

[sonysnob]

Yeah, if there is one section of the 401 where a driver needs to behave themselves with the throttle, it's the 401 through Chatham-Kent.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by megadude

This reminds me of circa 2001. A bunch of us were driving from Windsor back home and we were in the CK area. Some early 20s douche was driving like an Impala or something and blew right by us. Could see him weaving in and out behind us and continued to do the same after he passed us. Dude was smiling too.

But what we remembered was that a couple minutes before this, an unmarked cruiser passed us. We were praying that he'd fly right by him when he catches up. And sure enough, a couple minutes later OPP's got him pulled over on the shoulder and we beeped twice and shouted "karma, bitch!".

Oh yea now you remind me of early March 2017 when my friend and I were heading back from windsor to kw on a Sunday night. Boy it was crazy to see 4 cops in 69 minutes, but this epic part of the night was this:
A white pickup truck blew by us as I was being cautious and only going 118~119 kph. A minute later, from the gap under the truck in front of us, I saw blue and red turned on without any warning. It turned out that the guy got pulled. I had the video uploaded on YouTube too (long before the dash camera went dysfunct).

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Yeah, if there is one section of the 401 where a driver needs to behave themselves with the throttle, it's the 401 through Chatham-Kent.

Do they let people do 119 kph or do they actually nab people at 106 kph??

[Dengler Avenue]

https://twitter.com/OPP_COMM_WR/stat...48171924344832

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Then, I saw an OPP cruiser, sitting right under a tree next to the EB lanes.
That caught me off guard.

For the radar traps set up on the sideroads of Hwy 6, it's more that in some spots (like Maddaugh) trees block the view until drivers are close to the intersection. By then, if speeding excessively, it's too late.

[Dengler Avenue]

In summary, blind spot = cop spot.

Also, is ticket quota a real thing? Sometimes, even near the end of the month, I don't see that many cops out on the highway setting up traps. Sometimes, they come out in herds at the beginning of the month. Other times, they do it in the middle of the month.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Do they let people do 119 kph or do they actually nab people at 106 kph??

OPP can pull you over even if you are doing 1km/h over the speed limit. This is exceptionally rare, but it does happen.

401 in Chatham: I will not do more than 114. Everywhere else, I will not do more than 119 unless traffic flows at a faster speed.

Going with the flow is simply safer as it minimizes speed variance. Before construction started at the highway 8 / 401 interchange, traffic seemed to move either 130+ eastbound, or stopped.

[Dengler Avenue]

I kinda hope that OPP will be more lenient once the segment through C-K, Elgin County and west end of Middlesex County are widened to 3 lanes each side with tall wall in between.

I find it funny that even Lambton County OPP is more lenient. On 402W, I never saw a sign warning people about speeding fines. On the other hand, one sees lots of those through Elgin and C-K. LOTS.

[Dengler Avenue]

Curious question: Why not renumber Highway 21 as Highway 26 southwest of Springmount?

[sonysnob]

Youtube video of the 402 entering Sarnia:

• Video Link

[megadude]

Nice.

I always prefer taking the 402 through Sarnia and crossing the Blue Water to get to Detroit than taking 401 through Windsor and crossing the Ambassador.

It seems like a cleaner and more efficient route. Though mind you, I have crossed through Windsor like 10 times and Sarnia like 5. So part of my preference for Sarnia is that I've done the Windsor crossing too many times.

Kind of like debating whether to cross the Queenston/Lewiston, Rainbow or Peace bridges to Buffalo. They have different views of the river and different surroundings. Ambassador is equivalent to the Peace since those cross right into the downtowns. Blue Water and Queenstown/Lewiston are equal in terms of appreciating the natural beauty of the water below.

[sonysnob]

It's funny, I actually almost always choose to cross the border in Detroit. Driving the 402 to Sarnia is pretty rare for me. I filmed this on a work trip I made to Sarnia earlier this year.

[megadude]

Anyone else like me? Taking different bridges or highways based on how you feel that day as opposed to just the most efficient route?

I've only take Hwy 2 as far as Bowmanville. If I were retired and had all the time in the world had to go to Cornwall, I'd consider taking 2 all the way.

If I had to go from the Kawarthas to Ottawa, I would definitely take Hwy 7 instead of 401 since I've never been on that stretch of 7.

When I drive from the city up to the cottage on the east side of G Bay, I alternate between two routes. 400 straight up or 427/Zenway/Hwy 27.

On way back from cottage to Oakville, when I get on the 401, I equally take 427/QEW and 403. Though on occasion I'll take 401 and exit Trafalgar and head down just to change it up. Definitely longer but it's something different. And only at non peak times because I don't wanna deal with Toronto Outlet traffic!

Or if I'm going to Markham, which I do often, I switch up between QEW/427/401 or Dundas/403/401 or QEW/Gardiner/DVP/404. Though the latter is often jammed up so that's only early morn or really late.

Sometimes when I'm heading to Niagara, instead of crossing the Burlington Skyway, I'll get off on Eastport and do that winding road and cross over the lift bridge and get back on the QEW afterwards. Every time I've been on Eastport I'm practically the only car so it feels nice to have the road to myself. This is at off peak times of course.

Oh and when driving to Florida, two different times we took I-75 down and took I-95 back.

[megadude]

Here's a video I made early in the year. At the beginning is Niagara bound over the Skyway. And at 1:33 I'm Toronto bound but took Eastport and crossed the lift bridge before getting back on the QEW. Both routes are interesting in their own right.


• Video Link

[megadude]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

It's funny, I actually almost always choose to cross the border in Detroit. Driving the 402 to Sarnia is pretty rare for me. I filmed this on a work trip I made to Sarnia earlier this year.

Windsor crossing is definitely more interesting. Has more to see on the approach and while crossing.

But now I'm a Sarnia crossing guy because I went to school in Windsor and I've seen enough. Actually lived in residence beside the Ambassador and was looking out my window when they shut it down for 9/11. A miles long convoy of idle big rigs.

Also, in 2007 four of us were coming back from a booze filled trip to Ann Arbor to watch UM play at the Big House. However, I was the DD so I had three beers between 2pm and midnight. The other guys just reeked of an assortment of beer and liquor. As soon as we got to the booth and rolled down the window, the border guy said I can see and smell that you guys were drinking (two guys in the back completely passed out). I said yup, but I've only had three Coors Lights in 10 hours. Then he says, very smugly," okay, next time, DON'T DRINK AT ALL. You can go now". Needless to say I felt like punching dude right in the face.

Never had a problem on the Blue Water. I did get pulled over by US Customs once because I was crossing by myself at midnight with a bunch of stuff in a rented car. I explained I was going to CO, UT, AZ and NM and meeting someone there and also stopping off at points on the way to see places I've never seen.

The US customs guy started talking to me about fishing after he saw my tackle and also noticed the pepper spray I kept with it. He rightfully assumed it was for coyotes or bears when fishing a river. He said he also brings protection when fishing streams in Northern Michigan. His gun! On a related note, this also happened in Lewiston when customs guy saw my tackle. He proceeded to show me pics on his phone of some monster smallmouth bass he caught on Erie a few days before.

The other customs guy then quizzed me about the four games I was going to attend while down there. Asking me who the QBs are for Colorado and their opponent Oregon, both of whom I correctly named! Though he probably didn't google it. Just wanted to hear me answer the question quickly.

So ya, also had more positive experience on Blue Water than Ambassador. And have never waited a long time there either, but that's also due to the times of the day or year I was arriving.