Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

[nfitz]

Even highways aren't immune: https://www.therecord.com/news-stor...een-waterloo-region-and-guelph-delayed-again/

Certainly not immune in ridings that went NDP and Green!

 

[ssiguy2]

The same thing happened a few months ago when the crucial twinning of HWY#3 was to be completely widened between Windsor and Leamington…..they too suffered for voting NDP.

 

[muller877]

In my opinion, I don't think the Guelph-Kitchener freeway is needed too soon. They should instead focus on making Hanlon Parkway fully grade separated.

Hwy 7 crawled 15 years ago. And now every bridge over the Grand is jammed for 3-4 hours in the morning and at night. There are a lot of commuters to/from KW that would disagree with your statement.

I've driven both during rush hour and off-peak. At both times Hwy 7 is in greater need of a capacity increase.

 

[ShonTron]

I can't, for the life of me, figure out why the MTO never simply widened the existing Highway 7 as well. In the sections under municipal jurisdiction, it's four-laned, but the MTO-maintained section is only two lanes.

But yes, now that work started on the new alignment, it should be completed as soon as possible. Even the Greens are for completing the highway.

 

[darth_freeman]

Hwy 7 crawled 15 years ago. And now every bridge over the Grand is jammed for 3-4 hours in the morning and at night. There are a lot of commuters to/from KW that would disagree with your statement.

I've driven both during rush hour and off-peak. At both times Hwy 7 is in greater need of a capacity increase.

The thing is, a traffic jam in Kitchener is not the same as a traffic jam in the GTA. I just chuckle when I hear people from smaller towns complaining of slow downs that add a few minutes of delay while in the GTA every major highway has about a 20+ minute delay in the peak hour.

 

[Streety McCarface]

The thing is, a traffic jam in Kitchener is not the same as a traffic jam in the GTA. I just chuckle when I hear people from smaller towns complaining of slow downs that add a few minutes of delay while in the GTA every major highway has about a 20+ minute delay in the peak hour.

Sorry, but HWY 7 delays are real, and can add up to an hour in each direction over the 20km distance. It's why many people choose to not drive altogether and use GO when possible. Unfortunately, the GO schedule is pretty bad between Kitchener and Guelph, so most people can't use it. Personally, I would prefer if they'd just improve the corridor between Kitchener and Guelph and run RER between the cities, but the province has shown that it's currently not feasible at the moment.

Unlike between points in the GTA, Waterloo and Guelph have no other real connections between the cities. You can't just hop on a GO train, a GO Bus, a subway, 2 different buses, the Mississauga transitway, etc. and end up in Guelph, you either take a greyhound (which doesn't come often), you bike (which is dangerous as hell (I've done it before)), you take the most inconvenient GO train, or you drive. Since the first 3 are extremely impractical for the majority of people, there is a greater need building this road. There are no real alternatives.

 

[steveintoronto]

you bike (which is dangerous as hell (I've done it before))

On Hwy 7, it's suicide. On parallel roads or the Kissing Bridge Trail, it can be a delight (done it many times) but takes a couple of hours, and getting in and out of each end to Guelph and K/W can be a nightmare even from the back roads or the Kissing Bridge Trail.

Good article here:

Plans for a new Highway 7 delayed again
The Ford government is confirming it's doing a review of the funding for the long delayed four lane project
2 days ago by: Blair Adams

New Highway 7 route
[...]

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/plans-for-a-new-highway-7-delayed-again-report-1133587

The thing is, a traffic jam in Kitchener is not the same as a traffic jam in the GTA. I just chuckle when I hear people from smaller towns complaining of slow downs that add a few minutes of delay while in the GTA every major highway has about a 20+ minute delay in the peak hour.

It's not just the jams, it's the litany of deadly accidents. That's one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Ontario.

CTV Kitchener: Crash on Highway 7

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Dec 16, 2017

0:01
Cyclist killed in serious crash on Highway 7
Traffic - 570 NEWS
https://www.570news.com/traffic/
Tweets by @570traffic. Other ways to get 570News Traffic: -Tune in every ten minutes on the 1's for up-to-the-minute traffic reports and weather forecasts during ...
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CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Sep 4, 2018

0:01
Hwy. 7 collision hospitalizes two, closes road

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Sep 5, 2018
Driver charged in serious crash on Highway 7 | CTV Kitchener News

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Dec 16, 2017
0:01
Two days, two crashes on Hwy. 7

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Sep 6, 2018
0:01
Man airlifted to hospital after 3-vehicle crash

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Aug 3, 2018
0:01
CTV Kitchener: Fatal crash on Hwy 7/8 | CTV Kitchener News

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Dec 18, 2017
WB 401 closed after pedestrian hit

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Aug 8, 2018
0:01
CTV Kitchener: Fatal crash on Highway 85

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Dec 13, 2017
Hydro lines fall on Highway 7

CTV Kitchener - CTV News - Apr 16, 2018
Web results
Two injured in head-on crash on Highway 7 between Kitchener and ...
https://www.cbc.ca/.../kitchener.../highway-7-wellington-road-head-on-collision-1.49...
Nov 14, 2018 - Provincial police have closed Highway 7 in both directions between Kitchener andGuelph due to a head-on collision. The crash occurred ...
2-car crash closes Highway 7 between Guelph and Kitche
Traffic - 570 NEWS

https://www.570news.com/traffic/
[...]

 

[Kitsune]

The remaining chunk of Highway 69 that is not under construction is also under review and the feeling is the Conservatives will cancel it. There will be about 80 km left when the latest construction is wrapped up in 2020.

 

[BurlOak]

The remaining chunk of Highway 69 that is not under construction is also under review and the feeling is the Conservatives will cancel it. There will be about 80 km left when the latest construction is wrapped up in 2020.

By all accounts, this is quite low on the priority list.
At least well behind highway 7 KW-G.

 

[Kitsune]

By all accounts, this is quite low on the priority list.
At least well behind highway 7 KW-G.

Depends where you live ... Highway 69 too is littered with fatal accidents. It averages almost a couple every month in the summer.

 

[ShonTron]

On Hwy 7, it's suicide. On parallel roads or the Kissing Bridge Trail, it can be a delight (done it many times) but takes a couple of hours, and getting in and out of each end to Guelph and K/W can be a nightmare even from the back roads or the Kissing Bridge Trail.

Good article here:

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/plans-for-a-new-highway-7-delayed-again-report-1133587

It's not just the jams, it's the litany of deadly accidents. That's one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Ontario.

I've done it by bike once via the south route - Fairway to the new bridge to Kossuth to old Highway 24 - it's a long way out of the way, but it's quieter. The paved shoulders on most of old 24 (now a regional/county road) make it doable - though it could be easier trying to swing over to Waterloo Avenue to get to Downtown Guelph.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the last stretch of Highway 69 delayed either. The section from Highway 64 to Britt is well under way, and that takes care of most of the last of the major hazards/pinch points. Even with the final section still at two lanes, there's only one slowdown left, at Pointe au Baril.

 

[steveintoronto]

I've done it by bike once via the south route - Fairway to the new bridge to Kossuth to old Highway 24 - it's a long way out of the way, but it's quieter. The paved shoulders on most of old 24 (now a regional/county road) make it doable - though it could be easier trying to swing over to Waterloo Avenue to get to Downtown Guelph.

Hwy#24 isn't as bad, but in my five years in Guelph, and even cycling there now I learned to avoid that too. Kossuth is reasonable, and the alignment into K/W is better than from the north, I figured out the cycle trails through K/W (the distance ones) at one time, never seem to be able to find them now (Iron Horse Trail, etc)(only parts, it's discontinuous). Even Guelphites driving find K/W a difficult challenge to navigate. I've learned to hop on the X200 and other buses to get through K/W until being able to escape via Elmira to the north, Cambridge Rail Trail to the south, (exquisite!) or Crowsfoot Rd to Conestogo and Glasgow Rd in. I shudder just looking at the map again. Getting across the Grand on a reasonable alignment is a real challenge. To the east of there are some wonderful roads. Maryhill is magical.

It also is a 'long way round' but all major roads in the region are dangerous to differing degrees. There's only a few (relatively) 'safe' ways out of Guelph even! Ironically one is harsh gravel, and runs parallel to the Hanlon (Hwy 6) and is the old 'Hanlon Rd' and 'Crawley, Concession 7' one. Not one for skinny tires (23c and up is good). Very little traffic, excellent for heading down to Hamilton, but that unfortunately invites yahoos in their pickups going faster than Hwy 6 speed and throwing gravel doing it. And 'The Hanlon' is infamous for speeders:
Yes, racing on the Hanlon Expressway is still a problem

 

[BurlOak]

Depends where you live ... Highway 69 too is littered with fatal accidents. It averages almost a couple every month in the summer.

I don't drive up there that much anymore.
I understand that the wide should experiment from the 1970's* lead to an unsafe situation between Bala and Parry Sound. But I recall that north of Parry Sound (hwy. 124) there were enough truck passing lanes that things were pretty smooth.

* - slower traffic was encouraged to drive on the shoulder and allow faster vehicles to pass on the lane. If it was 1 truck passing another truck, the oncoming traffic would also likely have to shift towards their shoulder a bit. As a slower driver (in a VW van), it kept me awake as I would constantly be checking the rear view mirror for approaching faster traffic. It did lead to problems if there actually was someone broken down on the shoulder. Then the MTO removed the signage - but some people still followed this custom. Those who didn't follow were sometimes passed on the right by frustrated faster traffic.

 

[Jasmine18]

There is a difference in stopping a planned project and one that is underway.

I don't see the point of stopping the construction to the Sudbury as its already well underway and frankly will do wonders in encouraging more tourism there from South Ontario.

 

[Bojaxs]

How come hardly anyone is discussing all the work going on the QEW between Trafalgar Rd and Winston Churchill?

I'm not referring specifically to this forum, but searching for any info on this project on the internet turns up hardly any results.

Plus I don't remember the government making any announcements about this project.