- Thread starter Northern Light
- Start date
KevinT
Active Member
Toll the collectors on the 401 to encourage transit. If I'm passing through from Kitchener to anywhere but corridor cities then I haven't got a reasonable transit choice, and neither do the long haul truckers.
afransen
Senior Member
Even a modest toll of 5 or 10 cents per km would be a start. The minimum toll off-peak can be quite low (even zero), but having a time of use toll for peak would be progress. It would be a good incentive to carpool, make express buses more viable, etc.
drum118
Superstar
You realize most drivers must use the collector lanes at some point to get off 401 to go north on the 427, 400, Allen Expressway, an exit they need to get off at as well to bypass the mess in the express lanes. You have 30% of drivers that cannot use transit as they are medical personnel on call, transit personnel, construction workers carrying their tools to a job site, must be at work when transit not running to start with.
When I drive, I use the express lanes until I need to get off at X point as transit is about a 2 hour plus trip from my place, let alone people outside the 416 area. Some of the drivers who live in other locations have no choice but to drive to the city to work as there is nothing in their area for their skills after their company has closed down or relocated to Toronto or somewhere else. Also cheaper to buy a home there than Toronto.
Then you have visitors to the city as well within the city itself where transit is an issue for them.
Not as simple as you think it is and it will never happen. I can point to other cities with the same issues that I have driven in and there has been no talk of tolling on those roads.
There needs to be a parking structure at Park Lawn Station to suck the traffic off the Gardiner to help to reduce the congestion on it with service every 5 minutes to Union.
Bojaxs
Active Member
There really is no point in implementing a toll cause most drivers already pay a toll in the form of the "gas tax".
afransen
Senior Member
Now that is never going to happen. Where would you put it? Shut down the Food Terminal?
Amare
Senior Member
Ah this sounds similar to the delusion that the province had when they built the Sheppard subway to Don Mills. They had the "common sense" idea that commuters would get off at the 404, park at Fairview, and then use the subway the rest of the way to get downtown.
Look at how well that worked out...
karledice
Active Member
I'm not familiar with that area of town but this is the model at Kipling.
People come from the West or North to park at Kipling station for free and take the subway downtown
Amare
Senior Member
Kipling has a different kind of modal share split. There's a lot of people from within Etobicoke (north and south) who will drive up/down to Kipling and catch a train, but what you dont see much of is people going out of their way to get off at the 427 at Dundas to take the GO or subway. Usually people will use Kipling if it's already on their way to their destination and it's more convenient (ie: they drive because it's in the same direction of their trip to the station, it's more convenient than taking the bus to the station, and taking the train is more convenient than taking their car all the way downtown because there's no immediate adjacent highway next to it).
Park Lawn GO will never see people any quantifiable number of commuters getting off at the Gardiner to take the GO Train into the city. Once drivers have reached Park Lawn, they are essentially 10-15 mins away from the downtown core. By the time they get off of the Gardiner, circle around to look for parking, walk to the station and wait for the train, they likely would've reach Bathurst St if they had just stayed in their car. There's no material benefit to them boarding at Park Lawn.
11th
Senior Member
Why would commuters get off at Fairview unless there is some catastrophic accident on the DVP? It adds (estimate) at least 10min just to sit in the queue to Sheppard.
If they have driven down the 404 and their destination is downtown, it makes more sense to hop on a GO bus/train further north.
Now, if OL gets extended, that may change; but the station's (or the parking structure's) current location is still ill-suited as a park and ride hub.
Amare
Senior Member
Ask Mike Harris and his common sense revolution folk, they're the only people who apparently knew better through whatever information cool-aid they were drinking.
marcus_a_j
Senior Member
I did that all the time, often parking on the top level as it was the only place with empty spots.
Full Metal Junkie
Active Member
How is soaking up a couple hundred cars from Gardiner going to solve the rush hour congestion? Or are you suggesting building a 50-storey megaparking supergarage? Unless you offload thousands of cars from Gardiner, you're not going to notice any change in congestion.
crs1026
Senior Member
The place to get people out of their cars is at Lisgar, Port Credit, Cooksville, Oakville, Etobicoke North, Bramalea, Malton. A parking garage at Park Lawn does nothing for congestion on the QEW, Gardiner, 427, 401.
Traffic is getting pretty bad on the Queensway and the existing off ramp to Park Lawn. When the new roads go in and the Christie Lands get developed, the area will probably approach gridlock. The last thing we need is a large number of cars coming to Park Lawn to park for the GO.
- Paul
torontowest91
Active Member
Well if it can stop 500 cars a day from Park Lawn/Lakeshore from driving downtown & back... will help this congestion for local residents.