Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

[junctionist]

The American Interstate rest areas with trees, landscaping, and picnic tables are often world class. The commercial villages at interchanges, though typically generic and utilitarian, are extremely convenient. The consumer wins when there are 4 gas stations within a few blocks of the freeway competing for business, as well as several motels and restaurants.

 

[DirectionNorth]

Those towering signs are a blight on the landscape. I hate them with a passion.

It also makes every interchange pretty much the same. No real character when you get off the freeway, They usually all look like this:

I like our service centres. Quick pee stop in clean rest rooms, or you can grab a coffee and/or a quick bite of you want to. Prices there aren't really inflated except at the gas station and convenience store (places like Timmies and A&W are fine). If you need fuel it is cheaper to go off the highway a bit.

I like their presence, but they are actually too successful. I find that I cannot buy food and use the toilet without spending at least 20 minutes there.

Amen! I like the choices. It's not pretty, but it kind of IS pretty at the same time. Like how Time's Square is ugly but pretty. Cool to see chains all clustered together competing.

It's not pretty, but I would call it functional. It does what it's supposed to do - but not much else (and I imagine living there is quite awful).

And YES we need non-commercial rest areas along our 400 highways! I love that these are all over the US. ALL OVER. Wonderful to pull over to a park-like setting and relax a moment. Hate that on our 400 series the only option is to pull over into a crowded asphalt field and be bombarded with commercialization.

We do need more of them.

Admittedly, they can start to look tacky if the commercial density gets too high.

That pic is a bit of an extreme example. It is Breezewood PA when I-70 meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike, now I-76 (still tolled). Federal funding back in the day did not allow a direct Interstate connection to a tolled highway, so all interchanging traffic between two major highways is routed through a couple of short surface roads. Those surface roads are now actually designated as part of I-70. It's also a bit of a compressed shot.

View attachment 340158

True, the service centres are good for a quick in-and-out. But if you want to give the kids a break with a bit of a picnic and leg stretch, stretch out your legs, the dog, etc. they are an ocean of hot pavement. As discussed above, many to have picnic areas but they are not very inviting and treated like a closely guarded secret.

Totally agree.

The American Interstate rest areas with trees, landscaping, and picnic tables are often world class.

They often are, though others are often neglected (the I-81 north of Syracuse has several "rest areas" that are paved parking lots, which can easily be expanded to include some tables and grass).

The commercial villages at interchanges, though typically generic and utilitarian, are extremely convenient. The consumer wins when there are 4 gas stations within a few blocks of the freeway competing for business, as well as several motels and restaurants.

My experience is that there are enough towns on most of the 400-series with these amenities. For example, on the 401, I've stopped/seen lots of them in Cornwall, Prescott, Brockville, Kingston, Napanee, Belleville, Trenton, and Port Hope just for T-M. They are also quite ugly, and probably creates awful environments for residents.

 

[lenaitch]

My experience is that there are enough towns on most of the 400-series with these amenities. For example, on the 401, I've stopped/seen lots of them in Cornwall, Prescott, Brockville, Kingston, Napanee, Belleville, Trenton, and Port Hope just for T-M. They are also quite ugly, and probably creates awful environments for residents.

Yes. Thankfully, in most cases the 401corridor cuts far enough north of the town centres of most of them and is typically the newer big box/fast food/commercial areas. The downtowns of most typically centre around old Hwy 2 closer to the lake, most of which are quite nice.

Back in the day when I was cheap and my back would handle it, I used to often overnight on bike trips at roadside rest areas ('picnic areas') of non-freeway routes (even in the US, which I'm not sure I would do now even if I was physically able to). Ontario struck me as typically hit and miss. Some are nice, others not so much. I found Michigan the same, particularly the UP. In all cases, their location or spacing was usually quite random, which I suppose is to be expected since the traffic patterns are less defined.

 

[anb]

Notably missing in Ontario are service centers like these that can be accessed from both directions:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.8417576,-74.0684924,481m/data=!3m1!1e3

There's also this too, which I find it odd since it's the only rest stop on the entire thruway that has a service centre on both sides

New Baltimore Service Area - North and South Bound · Milepost 127 South, NY State Thruway, New Baltimore, NY 12124

★★★★☆ · Toll road rest stop

goo.gl

 

[lenaitch]

There's also this too, which I find it odd since it's the only rest stop on the entire thruway that has a service centre on both sides

New Baltimore Service Area - North and South Bound · Milepost 127 South, NY State Thruway, New Baltimore, NY 12124

★★★★☆ · Toll road rest stop

goo.gl

Interesting design. It seems like a rather expensive venture for questionable gain, other only requiring one set of retailers. It appears that the traffic stream are separated from each other.

 

[timio]

I saw a similar concept in France: https://goo.gl/maps/cd7BfdKxWQGTAxJU8

 

[jamincan]

That really seems needlessly complicated.

 

[Altec]

I saw a similar concept in France: https://goo.gl/maps/cd7BfdKxWQGTAxJU8

You have to drive through the gas station to get to the parking lot? Looks nice but seems weird if you want to grab a drink or something.

 

[Tristen]

When will there be tolls on other 400 series’s highway, this happens all day and night for whatever reason.

Does fast and reliable public transit exist between Mississauga and North Etobicoke?

 

[Undead]

Interesting article:

Unusual design slashes injury crashes for Roundabout City

In Carmel, Indiana, double-teardrop roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 84 percent at the intersections where they were installed.

www.iihs.org

 

[innsertnamehere]

View attachment 343698

When will there be tolls on other 400 series’s highway, this happens all day and night for whatever reason.

Does fast and reliable public transit exist between Mississauga and North Etobicoke?

To be fair the traffic through there is usually relatively short and adds a few minutes to journey times at most outside of rush hour.

now rush hour is another matter.. I try to avoid the 401 at rush hour whenever possible.

 

[afransen]

Interesting article:

Unusual design slashes injury crashes for Roundabout City

In Carmel, Indiana, double-teardrop roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 84 percent at the intersections where they were installed.

www.iihs.org

They look pretty space hungry, but to be fair, many highway interchanges are anyway. I notice a cycling advocate spoke favourably of them, so maybe my concerns about the safety or cycling friendliness of them is unwarranted. The Dutch design standards are not fans of having a pedestrian cross multiple lanes of traffic in a single stage as one car can obscure the view of a crossing pedestrian from another car approaching in the second lane.

Of course, it's all better than what we have now. I fear for my life many times riding on multi-use paths crossing driveways and sidestreets, looking at the right turning vehicles looking at oncoming traffic, away from me. I give my bell a good workout and hope for the best, ready to slam on the brakes. The problem there of course is that cars are trying to navigate too many conflicts at once, instead of being able to clear the sidewalk/bike path first, then look at vehicular traffic.

 

[PinkLucy]

To be fair the traffic through there is usually relatively short and adds a few minutes to journey times at most outside of rush hour.

now rush hour is another matter.. I try to avoid the 401 at rush hour whenever possible.

I just drove across the city. Westbound was moving fine. Eastbound was backed up for miles thank to at least one collision and construction. I drove through that construction yesterday, mid day. It added an hour to my trip.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Once one piece of the highway has gone through reconstruction, another section gets ripped up for more reconstruction. Seems like there never is time that the expressways are undergoing reconstruction, so they are never going to be driven on at the posted speed limit.

 

[kamira51]

Once one piece of the highway has gone through reconstruction, another section gets ripped up for more reconstruction. Seems like there never is time that the expressways are undergoing reconstruction, so they are never going to be driven on at the posted speed limit.

I guess that's oneway to keep the road construction industry alive.