Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
This is the bogeyman on this file. I did a quick distance calculation and from the Montée Paiement exit of the 50, going down Paiement to the new bridge, then down Rockcliffe Parkway, Aviation Parkway, through the split and then down the 417 to downtown Ottawa is close to 25 km. Staying on the 50, then taking the 5 down to the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge is around 15 km.
Plus, although busy, the 50-5 route has no stoplights. The so-called short cut across the new bridge is as busy (if not busier at the split and along the 417), plus has stoplights all along Montée Paiement (at least 8 at the moment if my memory serves me right), plus stoplights on the parkway at Montreal Road and Ogilvie Road.
As I mentioned previously, those Gatineau residents who work in east end Ottawa will commute via the new bridge (they’re already using Macdonald-Cartier/St. Patrick/Vanier Pkwy to get to work now, BTW), that’s for sure. But almost no one from Gatineau will be jockeying for space with people from Orleans, Cumberland and Rockland heading downtown on the 174-417.
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I'll concede that going down all the way to the 417 would be an unlikely route for drivers from Gatineau to take to reach downtown, but there are a few problems with your assumptions.
- Assuming trips are coming from the 50/Montee Paiement interchange is pretty unreasonable considering that everything north of the 50 is off-limits to development.
- Trip-makers would still be free to use Montreal Rd. or Ogilvie to reach their destinations downtown, which would significantly cut down on distance.
- Workers along the Heron/Baseline "strip" of government sprawl would also likely use the new bridge due to much more convenient access to the Vanier Parkway/Riverside Dr.
I did two of my own distance calcs.
First, assuming workers are travelling from the fringe of Gatineau suburbia (the eastern terminus of La Verendrye) to downtown gives 19km via Labrosse, A50, Montcalm and the Chaudiere Bridge and 16km via La Verendrye, Montee Paiement, Aviation, Montreal, and Rideau. Granted traffic on Montreal is an issue, but Chaudiere Bridge isn't a walk in the park either.
If you assume trips are coming from downtown Gatineau, the trip is 12km via Maloney, Montee Paiement and over the bridge and 10km via Maloney, A50 and Chaudiere. So basically anything east of Montee Paiement ends up being shorter over existing bridges if you're heading downtown.