Quote:
Originally Posted by sonysnob
I doubt the implementation of HSR will really have that much of an effect on traffic levels on the 401.
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HSR alone won't have that much (although still an impact), but GO RER will do a lot. It will siphon off a huge chunk of the regular commuters who make up most of highway traffic. In combination they'll do even more--someone travelling from Kitchener to Markham, for example, will be able to take HSR to Union then transfer onto GO RER up to Markham, which will be a faster trip than driving--unless you take the 407 which is expensive.
For the record, the GO RER plan would have two-way, all-day, 15-minute frequency service between Kitchener (both downtown and at a suburban park and ride at Breslau), Guelph, Georgetown, Brampton, Pearson, and Toronto with very easy connections to Mississauga, Durham, Markham, and Richmond Hill. You're basically talking about subway-quality service in the entire Golden Horseshoe region.
The HSR EA will likely look at reduced highway widening expenditures associated with HSR & GO RER and factor that into the HSR business case.
Though, with Glen Murray, the HSR's main proponent, out of MTO, we have yet to see if the project will even survive. I feel like it will though, it's such a great vote-grabber (not to mention great project!), and with all the infrastructure work needed for GO RER, HSR is really not that much of an extra cost. In any case, even if HSR is off the table, GO RER is still very much on it and the government has already gotten the wheels rolling on that one.
It's interesting to see how HSR may been seen by MTO as a solution to highway congestion. Right now MTO doesn't really seem to care, it widens highways regardless of whether Metrolinx is doing anything... shows the disconnect between the two bodies.
If the MTO ever gets to the point where its seriously considering widening the 401 to Kingston--something that is currently foreseen long-term (and therefore being planned for with bridge rehabs and such) but not scheduled for any time in the short-term or even mid-term--I imagine that's when the ball will start to get rolling big time on HSR towards Ottawa. 6-laning to Kingston would be an extraordinarily expensive project with nearly 400 lane-kms needed plus massive bridge overhauls.