Voltz
Senior Member
I agree, if anything the construction disruption will make it impossible for all the traffic from the Allen to go anywhere regardless.
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I agree, if anything the construction disruption will make it impossible for all the traffic from the Allen to go anywhere regardless.
sixrings
Senior Member
another plus is that there would be enough room for proper on and off ramps (doughnuts) at lawrence if the allen ended at lawrence.
TransitPolicyChanger
Active Member
There have been other comments that Allen Road will have to be temporarily closed when the construction reaches Eglinton West.
There used to be separate off ramps at Lawrence from the southbound Allen Road prior to the opening to the extension to Eglinton. Although it would be nice to fill in the Allen ditch from Lawrence to Eglinton, I just dont see it happening. People talk about the traffic problems on Eglinton because of Allen, imagine Lawrence and Marlee if it was gone. People would still want to get to Eglinton and to the Allen, one way or another.
whatever
Senior Member
So have Allen continue south of Lawrence, but have it at-grade and Avenue-ized all the way down to Eglinton. Kind of like how in Markham the 404 northbound feeds into Woodbine.
Neil
Active Member
It has been shown time and time again that if you remove roads, the traffic goes with them. If you discourage using this area as car commute route, then it won't be. Plus, you're adding densification right beside subway stations which will create transit users, not more automobile drivers.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
... and there is Marlee Avenue, which conveniently runs parallel to the Allen between Lawrence and Eglinton. However, it is quite difficult for some motorists to manoeuvre from the Allen to Marlee.
Electrify
Senior Member
I do think ending the Allen at Lawrence would be a good decision, but simply ending it like they do at Eglinton would not be a wise decision. I'm not sure how they would make it work with the surroundings, but have it with merging ramps and a widened avenue to handle the influx of traffic.
Another option would be to toll it south of Lawrence, to try and control the traffic influx at Eglinton.
Another option would be to toll it south of Lawrence, to try and control the traffic influx at Eglinton.
Neil
Active Member
- Remove the ramps from 401E and 401W to Allen S. There's 80% of the problem solved there.
- Allen S is now 2 lanes S of the 401 instead of 4
- It picks up one lane from the mall but that merges in so its still 2
- 1 lane goes to Lawrence W.
- 1 lane goes under Lawrence, loops to the right and goes to a dedicated lane on Lawrence E
- Lawrence E currently merges from 3 to 2 lanes 2 blocks east
No funnel effect, and the Eglinton LRT station which is how we got started on this tangent becomes a vibrant and dense transit hub instead of the monument to traffic that it is now.
- Allen S is now 2 lanes S of the 401 instead of 4
- It picks up one lane from the mall but that merges in so its still 2
- 1 lane goes to Lawrence W.
- 1 lane goes under Lawrence, loops to the right and goes to a dedicated lane on Lawrence E
- Lawrence E currently merges from 3 to 2 lanes 2 blocks east
No funnel effect, and the Eglinton LRT station which is how we got started on this tangent becomes a vibrant and dense transit hub instead of the monument to traffic that it is now.
andrewpmk
Senior Member
Removing traffic lanes makes traffic worse. When Miller narrowed Dupont from 4 lanes to 2 lanes + bike lanes (which no one uses, and which are extremely dangerous for bikes anyway), traffic got much worse. Same thing when the Gardiner or DVP is closed for construction, the 401 always gets more congested when this happens (hence tearing down the Gardiner is a crazy idea). Although in big cities, it is almost impossible to satisfy the demand for car lanes so traffic will always be bad (hell, it can be difficult to satisfy the demand for transit resulting in transit overcrowding), removing traffic lanes will result in more congestion.
If there were money available, I would support a short tunnel extending Allen Rd to Bathurst just north of St. Clair. This would reduce the amount of traffic congestion caused by cars entering Allen at Eglinton.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Ending the Allen at Lawrence temporarily may mean reversing the the southbound ramps from Lawrence during the construction of the Allen Road station. They would have to make a wide U-turn from the left southbound lane, across the two blocked lanes to enter the reversed southbund ramps up to Lawrence eastbound. That's my assumption if they go that way. Using the existing ramp from Allen Road would cause too much traffic.
Amy Rose
Active Member
Then Marlee gets clogged with traffic...
EL72
New Member
While they could build an entrance on the south side to avoid crossing Eglinton, the better solution would be to have the cars entering NB Allen Rd ducking underground (since they have to go down the ramp anyways) and leave the surface for pedestrians and transit users. Rather than that lame "walkway and sunken garden" (see slide #47 in that ppt) that will never look that green with all the cars. Crossing Eglinton on foot there would be a pleasure without all the cars entering Allen.
Even better though: I agree with ending Allen at Lawrence like below, with the exception of removing the 401 traffic. From Allen to Bathurst (or Dufferin), Lawrence is much wider and better able to accommodate the cars than Eglinton. What's the point of the Allen expressway if you can't get to it from the 401? You may as well fill in the whole thing. There is space to build wider off-ramps at Lawrence if Allen ends there.
junctionist
Senior Member
When I use the Dupont bike lane, I always encounter other cyclists, especially in the morning going downtown. The bike lanes have made the road safer than before, especially in the underpass by the Dundas/Annette intersection, which was an unusual and dangerous place for cyclists because of the combination of curving road, the additional intersection of the connecting road from Dundas to Dupont that forms that triangle of land between those two streets, and the darkness of the underpass. Now the bike lanes slow down cars and provide a clearly defined safe zone for cyclists. This combination of extra time and space makes the roadway much safer for cyclists, as it should--a cyclist was killed by a car at that underpass before the dangers were addressed with the present day infrastructure.
The traffic on Dupont is a result of the volume of cars. Before the bike lanes, congestion was still an issue and would have hit this point eventually anyway. If traffic will always be an issue no matter what, then there seems to be a problem with this form of transportation and marginalizing more efficient alternatives makes no sense. Hence, more efficient modes of transportation should be rewarded with road space and prioritized in planning.
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Johnny Au
Senior Member
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT should be dug deep enough that no future politician can cancel it Mike Harris-style. I do not want to see money wasted on burying it again. Bike lanes should be implemented along Eglinton Avenue as well, since it would help make commute greener and complement well with the LRT.
leopetr
Active Member
For the record, my wife uses the Dupont bike lanes to commute to work.