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  #41  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2011, 7:58 PM
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also, anyone looking for a photo update on the highway twinning here is a link for some:

http://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=5450.0
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  #42  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2011, 3:16 PM
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Originally Posted by CBC News
Canada lags in use of road tolls

Many drivers see road tolls as a nuisance, but they're not just a way to raise money — transportation experts say they’re a valuable way to regulate the transportation grid and streamline traffic.

Countries like Sweden and Great Britain have used tolls to ease congestion, curb carbon emissions, fund public transit and generally create a more comfortable and expedient commute for all travellers.

In Canada, however, tolls are a relative rarity — across the entire country, there are only 18 pay-as-you-go routes. What’s more, only two of them are roads (the 407 in Ontario and the Cobequid Pass in Nova Scotia), and 12 are bridges or tunnels on the Canada-U.S. border, like the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit from Windsor, Ont.

Given crumbling bridges in places like Montreal and crushing commute times in Toronto, experts wonder why Canadian municipalities aren’t using tolls more often.

“‘Tolls’ is kind of a catchphrase for road pricing, which has lots of different options,” says Cherise Burda, director of Ontario transportation policy at the Pembina Institute. That can include everything from traditional tolls, to congestion charges, to more progressive strategies like vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

“Things like that have the added benefit of giving drivers pause, and making them think, what are some of the other options of getting around?” says Burda.

Manipulating traffic

According to Enid Slack, director of municipal finance and governance at the Munk School of Global Affairs, tolls are important “not only because they bring in money to build the roads, but they discourage people from using those roads, and in the future would reduce the need to expand those roads.”

Says Slack, “The tolls don’t just act on the revenue side, but they play a role on the expenditure side, because they reduce the demand for roads.”

How would you finance the Big Fix?
They can also manipulate traffic flow, and one of the most successful models is the congestion charge in London, England. Between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., London drivers must pay a rate of £10 (approximately $16 CDN) to pass through the downtown core.

This great experiment was launched by London mayor Ken Livingston in 2003 with the aim of reducing congestion and raising investment funds for the city’s transit system. While the “C-charge” continues to have its detractors, a 2007 study reported that it had reduced car traffic in downtown London by about 70,000 vehicles a day.

A similar toll introduced in Stockholm in 2007 has shaved car traffic by 25 per cent.

Singapore has had a congestion charge since 1973, and since it was implemented, the city-state has witnessed a 70 per cent bump in transit ridership.

Canadian congestion

Canadian cities have some of the highest commute times in the world — in Toronto, it takes an average of 80 minutes to get to and from work every day; in Montreal, it’s 76 minutes. Canada is in desperate need of some sort of road infrastructure strategy, says Burda.

Introduced in 2003, London's congestion charge has significantly reduced the traffic in the city's core.
“We’re years behind where we should be,” she says.

That's one of the factors making the idea of tolls more palatable to Canadian drivers. According to an online poll conducted exclusively for CBC News by Leger Marketing, half of Canadians would be in favour of road tolls if they reduced gridlock and shortened the daily commute.

One of the most successful tolling strategies in Canada is Ontario’s 407, a privately owned express toll route (ETR) that stretches 108 kilometres across the top of the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1997, the 407 is the world’s first electronically operated toll highway.

The 407 charges what’s called a “free-flow” toll – in other words, drivers don't need to stop to pay. When motorists get on and off the highway, they pass under a gantry mounted with equipment that automatically records the beginning and end of their trip. Their ride is validated in one of two ways: by a video camera, which scans the car’s licence plate; or through a signal to a transponder mounted inside the vehicle. (Riders can rent the transponder for $21.50 per year.) The driver then gets a bill in the mail.

“The people that use [the 407] know that every day they’re going to get to work at the exact same time that they did the day before,” says Martin Collier, a road pricing consultant based in Guelph, Ont.

“[The highway’s owners] get a bad rap because they only comprise 100 of 300,000 kilometres in the province of Ontario. But for their customers – about one million of them – they’re giving them the best ride in all of Ontario.”

More can be read at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...oad-tolls.html
Article mentions the only two tolled roads in Canada as being the 407 in Ontario and the Cobequid Pass in Nova Scotia.
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  #43  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2011, 5:14 PM
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So removing the 12 that are border crossings and the two roads, that leaves four bridges or tunnels. There's the two Halifax bridges, one bridge in Montreal...what's the fourth one?
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  #44  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2011, 5:43 PM
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So removing the 12 that are border crossings and the two roads, that leaves four bridges or tunnels. There's the two Halifax bridges, one bridge in Montreal...what's the fourth one?

Maybe when the data was collected the Harbour Bridge in Saint John was still and active toll bridge?
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  #45  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2011, 6:50 PM
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Seems interesting that of those non-border crossing toll sites, most of them are/were in the Maritimes. (2x Halifax, Cobequid Pass, formerly Harbour Bridge). Hell if you go way way back, NB briefly had a toll road, and of course the Canso Causeway was toll up until a decade or two ago.
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  #46  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2011, 7:29 PM
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Originally Posted by OliverD View Post
So removing the 12 that are border crossings and the two roads, that leaves four bridges or tunnels. There's the two Halifax bridges, one bridge in Montreal...what's the fourth one?
Possibly one in Vancouver? I can't think of it off the top of my head. C_Boy might be right in assuming Saint John's Harbour Bridge was still active during the collection of data.

Personally I don't have a problem with tolls as long as they benefit regional transportation and infrastructure initiatives.
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  #47  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 5:20 PM
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Bus News:

Quote:
(Acadian) Maritime bus strike delayed
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...trike-584.html
Quote:
(Halifax) Metro Transit ridership down despite expansion
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...corridors.html
Quote:
Moncton bus fare to go up 25 cents
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...-increase.html
Quote:
Saint John cuts transit service
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...nsit-cuts.html
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  #48  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 5:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OliverD View Post
So removing the 12 that are border crossings and the two roads, that leaves four bridges or tunnels. There's the two Halifax bridges, one bridge in Montreal...what's the fourth one?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregHickman View Post
Possibly one in Vancouver? I can't think of it off the top of my head. C_Boy might be right in assuming Saint John's Harbour Bridge was still active during the collection of data.

Personally I don't have a problem with tolls as long as they benefit regional transportation and infrastructure initiatives.
There aren't any tolls on any bridge in the Montreal area that I know of, unless it was very recently added. The Champlain use to have a toll but it was removed a couple decades ago, the planned new Champlain bridge will likely be tolled. So it must be in the Vancouver area, lots of bridges around there that I don't know very well.
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  #49  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 5:59 PM
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confederation bridge? A25 bridge recently opened http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_25_Bridge_(Quebec) ??
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  #50  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 6:14 PM
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Originally Posted by David1gray View Post
confederation bridge? A25 bridge recently opened http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_25_Bridge_(Quebec) ??
You're probably right!

So if we assume the Confed is our missing bridge and the SJ Harbour Bridge and the A25 essentially traded toll statuses in the spring, then until very recently all four domestic toll crossings (and 1 of 2 toll roads) were located in the Maritimes.
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  #51  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 6:29 PM
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So if we assume the Confed is our missing bridge and the SJ Harbour Bridge and the A25 essentially traded toll statuses in the spring, then until very recently all four domestic toll crossings (and 1 of 2 toll roads) were located in the Maritimes.
Interesting. I always assumed Quebec/Ontario/BC had more tolled roads. I wonder why Ontario doesn't toll North/South roads for people escaping to their cottages in the summer.
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  #52  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 9:13 PM
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Anyone know if the Welsford bypass is going to be a divided highway?
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  #53  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2011, 9:28 PM
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Anyone know if the Welsford bypass is going to be a divided highway?
The section that has been paved already is divided, yes. Divided or not, that bypass is going to be much welcomed once it's finished. It's going to cut a few minutes off of the drive, and arguably the worst part of the road going through Welsford. As far as I know the entire bypass will be divided, similar to the highway around Camp Petersville.

Last edited by JHikka; Nov 26, 2011 at 9:39 PM.
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  #54  
Old Posted Jan 6, 2012, 7:46 PM
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Originally Posted by CBC
Old bus rules prevent competition

Motor Carrier Act was created in 1937 to protect consumers

Inter-city bus service in New Brunswick has been shut down for five weeks due to the Acadian Coach Lines lockout, but rules set up 75 years ago to protect consumers are now hurting them by preventing competitors from setting up service in the province.

David Anderson, the owner of Advanced Shuttle Services, a company based in Summerside, P.E.I., wants to set up a daily service that would connect New Brunswick and the island.

But a regulatory system put in place in 1937, designed to ensure bus service to remote communities by restricting competitors from coming into New Brunswick and poaching the best routes, currently prohibits that.

...

As it stands, Acadian has exclusive rights for most inter-city travel in New Brunswick under the Motor Carrier Act and in return, the company is required to run buses to communities where it doesn't make any money.
For more on article, see: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...s-acadian.html
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  #55  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2012, 7:33 PM
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transit

We used to have a pretty good system prior to 1990.

At least you could go places, and some of the rail and buses actually met. They even allowed time to transfer!

It was almost like it was a system designed to work.

Amazing concept. You even had rail to the US.

Wonderous it was.
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  #56  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 1:01 PM
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From CBC

Maine revives proposed highway to Quebec

Senate committee has approved a feasibility study
CBC News
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2012 9:33 AM AT

The State of Maine is reviving an old plan to build an east-west highway from Calais to the Quebec border.

The proposed two-lane, toll highway would shave an estimated four hours off of the drive between Saint John and Montreal.

A committee of the state Senate has approved a $300,000-feasibility study for the highway, which would be privately-funded.

"I would think construction could begin in one to two years. And probably two years, give or take, to build it,” said Senator Doug Thomas, who is the bill’s sponsor.

The state study still has to pass two more votes in the Maine legislature, but Thomas is confident it will.

"This is a great opportunity for all of us,” he said.

Maine businessman Pete Vigue has already said he is ready to build the $2 billion-highway and can find the investors to back the project.

Vigue plans to visit New Brunswick in March to promote the highway.

Harold Clossey, who heads Washington County, Maine's economic development agency, is already onside.

"I think the results of this study will be very positive,” he said.

Interesting news. I would be happier if it were 4 lane and divided but I could see sometimes taking this highway to get to central Canada. It might even make Toronto doable in a single day of hard driving. Having to take your passport would be a pain in the ass though.....
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  #57  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 1:33 PM
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Originally Posted by MonctonRad View Post
From CBC

Maine revives proposed highway to Quebec

Senate committee has approved a feasibility study
CBC News
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2012 9:33 AM AT

The State of Maine is reviving an old plan to build an east-west highway from Calais to the Quebec border.

The proposed two-lane, toll highway would shave an estimated four hours off of the drive between Saint John and Montreal.

A committee of the state Senate has approved a $300,000-feasibility study for the highway, which would be privately-funded.

"I would think construction could begin in one to two years. And probably two years, give or take, to build it,” said Senator Doug Thomas, who is the bill’s sponsor.

The state study still has to pass two more votes in the Maine legislature, but Thomas is confident it will.

"This is a great opportunity for all of us,” he said.

Maine businessman Pete Vigue has already said he is ready to build the $2 billion-highway and can find the investors to back the project.

Vigue plans to visit New Brunswick in March to promote the highway.

Harold Clossey, who heads Washington County, Maine's economic development agency, is already onside.

"I think the results of this study will be very positive,” he said.

Interesting news. I would be happier if it were 4 lane and divided but I could see sometimes taking this highway to get to central Canada. It might even make Toronto doable in a single day of hard driving. Having to take your passport would be a pain in the ass though.....
Not sure how financially viable the eastern portion between I-95 and Calais would be. Canadian travellers on this stretch would be pretty much only people going to and from Saint John. I would think that most Canadians would get off the toll road at the junction with I-95 and then go up towards the TCH (NB 2) to get to the rest of New Brunswick, and the rest of Atlantic Canada.
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  #58  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 3:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
Not sure how financially viable the eastern portion between I-95 and Calais would be. Canadian travellers on this stretch would be pretty much only people going to and from Saint John. I would think that most Canadians would get off the toll road at the junction with I-95 and then go up towards the TCH (NB 2) to get to the rest of New Brunswick, and the rest of Atlantic Canada.
Actually, most Atlantic Canadian take Highway 1 through SJ and the existing "airline route" from Calais to Bangor when going to tbe States. I-95 gets only a minority of the traffic. It might be four lane all the way, but it is also more boring, longer and slower.
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  #59  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 3:07 PM
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As I said in the other thread, I think the Calais to Bangor stretch would lure in the NS, PEI, Moncton and Saint John traffic, especially as the network improves on the Moncton to Calais route.

Anyone in Northern NB and probably from about Grand Falls and north, will take the TCH through Quebec.

People effectively between Gagetown and Grand Falls would head to Woodstock and take I95 down to this highway and hop on the highway down there somewhere.
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  #60  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2012, 3:58 PM
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I'm curious as to where this highway will be connecting into Quebec. A real quick look at a map suggests that if they were to build a highway from Calais to Quebec the logical place in Quebec to enter would be to connect to the 161 east of Sherbrooke.

I love this highway plan and it's something that I would definitely travel on if ever built. Drives to Quebec/Ontario are too long.

I wonder if this has anything to do with New Brunswick's Route 1 Gateway Project. Maybe Irving wanted their product going to Quebec in a shorter amount of time and lobbied Maine.
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