London Roads

[manny_santos]

I'm curious what the Byron Baseline Road project entails - can't find any more info on the city's website through a quick Google search.

The rail diversion project on Wharncliffe will be interesting to check out. Apparently that was the same method used to build the CN overpass on Oxford west of Wonderland in the late 1960s, with a diversion located immediately west of the current rail alignment.

[kaiserLDN]

My thought is maybe they don't need to include Bradley Ave. because they are not tearing up or widening a road. Just like they don't include Lambeth Trunk sewer line project which I am pretty sure was included on the list the last few years but now that's off road into a field.

Maybe I am wrong though.

[jammer139]

I believe Byron Baseline is going to be new Storm and Sanitary sewers. So a complete replacement of underground pipes and a resurface build of new curbs and sidewalks.

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I'm curious what the Byron Baseline Road project entails - can't find any more info on the city's website through a quick Google search.

The rail diversion project on Wharncliffe will be interesting to check out. Apparently that was the same method used to build the CN overpass on Oxford west of Wonderland in the late 1960s, with a diversion located immediately west of the current rail alignment.

[kaiserLDN]

Last phase of Sarnia Rd. reconstruction.

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/cache/2/wb5cyv45jdbcb3bi5risyr45/26581102092017105620563.PDF

[LOSat]

St. Thomas roundabout to replace busy intersection on route to Port Stanley etc.

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/02/10/21-million-roundabout-build-set-for-spring

This will be a well used and busy roundabout once completed.

[rml]

Originally Posted by kaiserLDN

Last phase of Sarnia Rd. reconstruction.

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/cache/2/wb5cyv45jdbcb3bi5risyr45/26581102092017105620563.PDF

let the construction headache season begin! what a pain, however necessary

[jammer139]

Hopefully 5 lanes straight thru to Hyde Park Rd. One more piece of the road puzzle fixed.

So many more to go sadly.

Originally Posted by kaiserLDN

Last phase of Sarnia Rd. reconstruction.

http://sire.london.ca/advisory/cache/2/wb5cyv45jdbcb3bi5risyr45/26581102092017105620563.PDF

[jammer139]

London top 10 accident intersections.

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/03/16/in-201...t-intersections-in-london-down-from-2015

Not surprising that 5 of the top 10 are along Oxford St. These intersections are so poorly designed for left turns that they are causing most of the collisions.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by jammer139

London top 10 accident intersections.

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/03/16/in-201...t-intersections-in-london-down-from-2015

Not surprising that 5 of the top 10 are alone Oxford St. These intersections are so poorly designed for left turns that they causing most of the collisions.

That is a main problem, but its also the drivers in London. We honestly have some of the worst drivers out there, I find driving in Toronto better sometimes. Just the other day I almost got into an accident because some impatient jerk decided to run the red light right when I was about to turn. I wish something was done about this, like red light cameras at every intersection, so people get fined for it. As well, more police on the road (I'd be in favour for more undercover cars too), and harsher fines so people can stop being idiots.

[database]

Originally Posted by tyeman200

That is a main problem, but its also the drivers in London. We honestly have some of the worst drivers out there, I find driving in Toronto better sometimes. Just the other day I almost got into an accident because some impatient jerk decided to run the red light right when I was about to turn. I wish something was done about this, like red light cameras at every intersection, so people get fined for it. As well, more police on the road (I'd be in favour for more undercover cars too), and harsher fines so people can stop being idiots.

Totally agree. We moved back to London 2 years ago from Toronto, and couldn't believe the state of driving here! I've never seen so many people on their phones behind the wheel. It's actually embarrassing.

[MrSlippery519]

Originally Posted by tyeman200

red light cameras at every intersection, so people get fined for it. As well, more police on the road (I'd be in favour for more undercover cars too), and harsher fines so people can stop being idiots.

Honestly I think this is a great idea, I know lots of people think red light cameras are bad but I cannot understand exactly why. Yes there is an upfront cost to install, and ongoing maintenance but I have to assume at the end of the day they are "making money".

In addition to the added revenue for the city over time, it will make people pay attention more while driving which is often a problem. It will make drivers think twice about blowing a light that they could have easily stopped for due to the risk of a ticket. It happens all the time where I stop at a light and not slamming on the brakes by any means but a harder stop than normal and some car who is in another lane behind the nose of my car ends up going through the light. This then causes an oncoming vehicle which is turning left to have to wait in the intersection while the light is now red...which then delays traffic the other direction.

Another added potential benefit is allowing police to be out doing other things, I doubt many "red light" tickets are handed out in a day versus how many cars are breaking the law, causing accidents and adding to congestion for others.

[Blitz]

The drivers are bad because it takes so damn long just to get anywhere, especially at rush hour. People get impatient. If London had been smart enough to build some type of crosstown expressway or ring road back in the day there'd probably be fewer collisions today.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by database

Totally agree. We moved back to London 2 years ago from Toronto, and couldn't believe the state of driving here! I've never seen so many people on their phones behind the wheel. It's actually embarrassing.

I have driven in both London and Toronto extensively and I find drivers in London are similar to Toronto. A couple of differences though: I find London drivers have a lot of problems with respecting pedestrians at intersections, particularly when turning right on red. On the flip side, Toronto drivers have a lot of difficulty moving completely into a turning lane when turning left, often straddling two lanes while waiting to turn; I can't say I've ever seen that in London. Toronto drivers also have a lot of problems with speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, though that's mostly on the 401 and Gardiner Expressway. On average, I prefer driving in London compared with rush hour in Toronto, but at least on surface streets, I'd rate them as roughly equal otherwise.

[database]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I have driven in both London and Toronto extensively and I find drivers in London are similar to Toronto. A couple of differences though: I find London drivers have a lot of problems with respecting pedestrians at intersections, particularly when turning right on red. On the flip side, Toronto drivers have a lot of difficulty moving completely into a turning lane when turning left, often straddling two lanes while waiting to turn; I can't say I've ever seen that in London. Toronto drivers also have a lot of problems with speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, though that's mostly on the 401 and Gardiner Expressway. On average, I prefer driving in London compared with rush hour in Toronto, but at least on surface streets, I'd rate them as roughly equal otherwise.

Yeah those are fair. I'd also give Londoners points for actually pulling over when an emergency vehicle has their lights flashing. Torontonians could care less about that.

[haljackey]

Large London traffic rant

https://www.reddit.com/r/londonontario/c...has_a_really_serious_baddriving_problem/

[HillStreetBlues]

I grew up in London believing that Londoners were generally uncommonly bad drivers, "Canada's Bostonians," and that defensive driving was more important than elsewhere.

I'm not so sure about that any more. Rolling stops at stop signs seem to be de rigeur everywhere; speeding is the norm nearly everywhere; and running fresh red lights is not uncommon. I saw a driver do this right in front of a police cruiser (in Kitchener) the other day, and was surprised that the car wasn't pulled over.

The "London left" in that rant really does happen in London, though left turners push it everywhere. I don't think what the ranter describes (being honked at from a car behind waiting to turn left on yellow, and then passing him) would happen very often elsewhere. I've been honked at for not turning left on a yellow (like the ranter, I'm not going to assume the oncoming car is going to stop), even though the car behind should be waiting for the next cycle.

Drivers in London are pretty disrespectful of people on foot, that's true. But I've experienced worse elsewhere (worst is Hamilton, in my opinion).

[MrSlippery519]

Its not just a London problem, I have driven all over Canada and the USA and it seems there are more and more bad drivers on the roads.

Again why I will absolutely support red light camera's on as many intersections as possible. It will not take long for people to start paying more attention if a $300+ ticket is a possible penalty.

Also as you alluded to Hill, police are also part of the problem...granted I am sure they sometimes have better things to do or somewhere they need to be the inconsistency with what justifies a ticket is hilarious. Thankfully my last ticket was when I was 17...funny enough for going through a "red" which I maintain to this day was yellow but still funny lol.

The same argument can be made for the highways, the 401 should be 120km/h and there should be speed camera's installed. Take the majority of police off/away for those situations as their time can be better spent else ware.

[HillStreetBlues]

I couldn't agree more with all of that. Red light cameras are a great tool- why tie up a highly-paid and -trained human being who has to use his or her discretion as to when to enforce traffic laws on the rare instances he's around to observe them being broken? If drivers know there is an ever present risk of being fined, their behaviour will change.

Speed cameras make sense on highways, too. If speed limits are set at something rational (120 km/h makes sense- that seems to be very close to the flow now, and well below the design speed), there can't be any complaints.

[go_leafs_go02]

I'm all for red light cameras. They work and can do a great job to increase safety.

Photo radar, I'm against. While I would argue red light cameras are a black and white thing, speed limits are not. Look at how the 401 is designed to a 130 km/h design speed, but posted at 100 km/h. If speed limits were set completely based on design speed, then I'd be more open to it, but in a lot of cases, almost everyone travels at a consistent speed that is sometimes up to 20 or 25 km/h higher than the speed limit, and largely that's based on the road design. Engineer the road if you want people to slow down, and I'd argue we should have a higher spread of speed limits. In an urban context, locals would have a baseline speed limit of 40 km/h, collectors at 50 km/h, and arterials at 60 km/h, with increases up or down dependent on the road design and surrounding density / land use.

[Dupcheck]

London ON is the only city that i have seen where the fast lane has more cars than the slow lane. The left lane is the slow lane in London. People would hog the left and would not move all the way to their destination. Let's not talk about roundabouts, that is a scary topic. It is the mentality of the people here; they feel entitled to the road and do not care how they effect the rest of the drivers around them.

When the school is out, the traffic is cut in half. The people that know how to drive are the ones that go to work everyday and know the roads well.

The seniors, students, and stay home parents are probably the majority of the bad drivers. They are in a rush or too slow.

Also some people do not purposely use signals when turning or changing lanes, because they think it is beneath them to do that. They feel too cocky! But when they drive around cop cars they signal properly. Chickenshits, yeah that used some people i knew, a showoff. They know how to drive properly, but they are purposely being rude with the I don't care mentality. Shame!

I think using signals is caring about the city and setting an example of the order on the streets. Even when there is no cars around, signaling is a good habit that sets a good example for all. If you do not have respect for the city streets you live in go somewhere else!