The DVP is already well over capacity. By some estimates its running at well over double its capacity. And the onramp to the DVP at the 401 is an absolute mess. It's ridiculous that the DVP gets traffic jams at 2am. All this would do is alleviate that issue. by re-distributing existing traffic more evenly.
So how could creating a funnel from the east *not* turn the southern section of the DVP into a multi-storey parkade without widening it to 10 or 12 lanes?
I recognize the concern that a new highway would attract new drivers. I hardly think that's the case here given that it's running through mostly settled area.
Yes, but it would enable even more sprawl on the outer reaches, like North Pickering, Sutton, etc.
The GO improvements are certainly needed and will help. However, there is no way they will complete relieve the DVP congestion. This region is going to absorb millions of newcomers in the coming decades. Some are going to drive.
I don't get it: how will creating a funnel of traffic relieve DVP congestion? If anything the bottleneck is only shifted south: not an improvement.
And our businesses will still need roadways to deliver goods and such.
We could embark on a strategy to shift commuters to transit, which would allow more space on the road for trucks.
Neither I nor the authors of 'Get Toronto Moving' suggest building this highway as an alternative to improving transit. In reality, both are needed. Transit is needed to move people. Roads are needed to move everything else. That's reality. The orthodoxy that we should build no roads at all serves no one.
There are definitely some highways that need expanding (such as 401 between the 427 and 409...eek), but what is needed in the long term (starting from now) is a fundamental paradigm shift given the factors beyond the control of Metrolinx or City Hall or even Queen's Park and Ottawa.
What we should not do are build roads out in the middle of nowhere that attract car-friendly development...like the 407. There's nothing with having a proper highway/arterial road system in developed areas. Does anyone, for example, consider Manhattan to be a poorly planned mess for having so many highways? They provide excellent transit as an alternative and that's what keeps people off the roads. Merely choking the city with traffic, reduces productivity, creates smog and will only incrementally increase the desire to take transit...more than likely it will convince residents and businesses to relocate.
Manhattan was lucky to dodge a slew of bullets from Robert Moses. His proposal was to build east-west highways across Midtown and Lower Manhattan, while the subway was neglected for many years. Besides, traffic in Manhattan is awful anyways.
It would merely shift traffic off the 401 and north DVP to the new highway.
So what happens south of Eglinton? Do all the extra traffic magically disappear?
The main bottlenecks are usually north of Eglinton anyway, around Wynford for example. The proposal also includes an extension to Bayview that would also help redistribute traffic going to downtown and midtown more evenly.
First, the bottleneck will certainly be shifted south. Second, Bayview and the surrounding streets such as Don Mills and Laird would be swamped by the ripple effect. We need to see things with the network effect in mind.
You do realize that even Metrolinx isn't proposing to have 24 hour GO service to north of Newmarket right. Like it or not, highways and cars are needed in our society and are part of our transportation mix. Residents who live north of Newmarket should have the same reasonable access to public roads as the rest of us. Indeed, they won't have the same access to transit as the rest of us.
The area already has a decent system of arterial roads that serve the traffic needs adequately. It is not as if extending the 404 will be the first time residents in Sutton, Georgina, etc see paved roads. In your words, we should not build roads to the middle of nowhere that attract car friendly development.
Getting back on topic....approaching the core from the east is far different that approaching from the West. In the west you have the option approaching from the South West on the QEW or from the North-West via the 427. There is nothing equivalent to the 427 in the east end. The east is served by one highway: the 401.
If you need to be symmetrical, the 427 in the east end is the DVP. The QEW in the east end would have been the expressway cutting through Scarborough that was never built. The equivalent of this expressway along the hydro corridor would have been the Crosstown Richview Expressway which also was never built.
And that's likely one of many reason why Durham region has lagged in development compared to the Mississauga.
Certainly, but this is not necessarily a negative and nothing dictates that the GTA has to be symmetrical. Building this highway to serve growth in the Durham region is circular logic.
Anyway, Metrolinx is considering roads in addition to transit. I am hoping that this is one idea they give some serious consideration.
If they are not in the pockets of developers, they would most likely brush this aside.
