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Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion
- Thread starter Haljackey
- Start date
T3G
Senior Member
It's pretty disingenuous to frame maintaining the status quo as making sacrifices. And why single me out? 10,000 people is a trivial amount when compared to the population of the city who don't participate.
What exactly am I asking of you, except not to run in public infrastructure? I'm not stopping you from running or collecting money for charity.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Hasn't happened yet. Bill 154 ('New Deal for Toronto Act') empowers the government to discuss with the city "the possibility of [both highways] becoming provincial responsibilities" and received Royal Assent in December. I can find nothing further, including any related Orders-in-Council, press releases, etc. It's a big deal, including matters of available law enforcement, road maintenance contracts, facilities, etc. plus lawyers on both sides hammering out matters such as title, due diligence, etc.
I imagine there is a lot to discuss.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
I hope that Queen’s Park is paying for this latest major rebuild.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
yes.
Right now the agreement is that the City will continue to administer the reconstruction contract until the details of the transfer are completed, but that the province will pay the bill in the interim for the City.
afransen
Senior Member
Laughing at the idea of closing all the runways at Pearson for a Picnic for Parkinsons or something. It seems like part of the point is to cause maximum disruption to bring attention to the event raising funds. It probably makes more sense to close sections of Lakeshore than to close the Gardiner/DVP.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
A Picnic against Parkinson's makes more sense. Who beyond big pharma and the Reaper himself wants to run for the disease?
I was wrong though, as we have reduced airport use for fundraising. I think it would be a hoot to ride or run around the airport.
Charity runners flock to Pearson Airport runway
The roar of jumbo jets gave way to the sound of pounding feet Saturday as a Toronto airport opened its runway to another kind of traffic.
toronto.ctvnews.ca
In the UK they have a midnight run at Heathrow.
Third-annual Midnight Runway Marathon raises record-breaking £50,000
Now in its third year, Heathrow's Midnight Runway Marathon has raised a record-breaking £50,000 for charity.
www.heathrow.com
I think next year I might sign up for the ride for brain health. Decades ago I rode the Becel ride for heart on the same route, IIRC. Of course as a student I had no idea of the disruption the event was causing. And of course we now know that Canola Oil is anything but good for our hearts. If you can't beat them, join them, and it does look like fun.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Honestly my bet is that the closures will magically be going away with the upload. MTO doesn't tend to close 400-series highways for a second. The Gardiner and DVP will likely join that club.
ShonTron
Moderator
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As someone who lives downtown, I find the one annual bike event on the Gardiner and DVP much less disruptive than running events (there are three of those a year). There’s no impact to TTC surface routes, no bike lanes are barricaded, pedestrians aren’t affected.
Toronto closes the two highways for two weekends in the spring and fall for maintenance as it’s much safer for work crews, especially with the limited shoulders and lanes. I can’t see the MTO not doing those.
Toronto closes the two highways for two weekends in the spring and fall for maintenance as it’s much safer for work crews, especially with the limited shoulders and lanes. I can’t see the MTO not doing those.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
MTO does maintenance on all other 400-series highways without weekend long closures, usually through rolling overnight lane restrictions.
I'm just speculating as who knows how MTO will treat the Gardiner and DVP - but I imagine they would want to extend similar maintenance practices to them as they do for all other provincial roadways.
I'm just speculating as who knows how MTO will treat the Gardiner and DVP - but I imagine they would want to extend similar maintenance practices to them as they do for all other provincial roadways.
turini2
Active Member
To add my two cents - is Toronto a "world class" city or not?
Because if it is, it can handle some closed roads for events like every other "world class" city around the world that manages to host things like marathons, cycling races, festivals and protests! Even car-centric LA can have a car-free freeway for a few hours...
Because if it is, it can handle some closed roads for events like every other "world class" city around the world that manages to host things like marathons, cycling races, festivals and protests! Even car-centric LA can have a car-free freeway for a few hours...
nfitz
Superstar
I suppose MTO could go to a more expensive approach.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
Not. And it needn't be. Skip the bread and circuses, and just make the city work well for its residents.
World class cities are like London, UK, where the museum are free and there's tons of things to do. In 2022 I visited London for ten days, and here's everything I saw, not including the shops like Hatchards, Harrods, F&M, etc. and a fun train ride out to tour and lunch at Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey).
Natural History Museum
British Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
Kensington Palace Tour (and high tea)
Museum of the Home
Cutty Sark
Royal Geographical Society’s Shackleton's legacy exhibit
Royal Observatory Greenwich
National Maritime Museum
RAF Museum
Thames river Uber boat
HMS Belfast
St. Paul’s Cathedral (climbed right to the top)
London Monument (great fire)
London Transport Museum
Woolwich Arsenal (had to see https://sumpmagazine.com/amc-plaque.htm)
Museum of London
Charles Dickens Museum
Science Museum
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
Greenwich Market
Portobello Road Market
Camden Market
Borough Market
Covent Garden Market
Little Venice (had coffee and a tart - not that sort - on a canal boat cafe)
Duchess Theatre (saw The Play That Goes Wrong | MISCHIEF)
If you want to make Toronto a world class city of this level, we need better transit, free museums and a lot more to do.
And back to the highways..... you can't be a world class city when your visitors can't get anywhere in the GTA by road once they're outside the urban core.
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lenaitch
Senior Member
Missed the Churchill War Rooms (Imperial War Museum). Oh well, gives you something to go back for.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
I did those with my wife on her birthday in 2002. She still picks on me for it. Honestly, I think with my trips to London in 1988, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2022 I think I've just about done the city of my birth. Though I have semi-promised to taking my live theatre loving offspring to London in Feb 2025 to see some shows. That's their reading week and flights to London in winter are cheap. After that, our next UK trip will be northward to York to see the dales and ride the steam trains to Pickering before driving northward.