[TOareaFan]

All guesses were wrong. Official opening is on Monday, squeezing into spring by the smallest of margins.

407 East and 412 will be toll-free for the remainder of 2016.

So it falls into the (revised) promise kept category!

 

[hawc]

I'm going to drive these so hard.

 

[nfitz]

TMI

 

[darth_freeman]

Glad to see this is finally opening just in time for summer cottage/camping. Will be interesting to see how this affects traffic on 401 as it will be free for a year.

Inb4 "induced demand" urban planning students come in crying about the DRL.

 

[gweed123]

I wonder how much of a traffic increase there's going to be on the Harmony-RR3-RR57-RR20/Boundary Rd to access the 115. I know that for the rest of 2016 at least, 401-412-407E and then that will be my preferred route to Ottawa.

 

[TOareaFan]

Glad to see this is finally opening just in time for summer cottage/camping. Will be interesting to see how this affects traffic on 401 as it will be free for a year.

Inb4 "induced demand" urban planning students come in crying about the DRL.

it is not "free for a year"...it is free for the rest of this year...so, roughly, free for 1/2 a year.

From a marketing persepective making it free for a period is a good move to get people hooked on the road and create the habit of using it (exactly what drug dealers do...discount/give away the first few hits then...bam!)....but for a government that seems to tie everything it does to its green agenda I wonder how giving 6 months of free rides on a toll road fits in....I guess the answer is given by how many ministers are tweeting about this road...but Glen Murray is not.

 

[darth_freeman]

it is not "free for a year"...it is free for the rest of this year...so, roughly, free for 1/2 a year.

From a marketing persepective making it free for a period is a good move to get people hooked on the road and create the habit of using it (exactly what drug dealers do...discount/give away the first few hits then...bam!)....but for a government that seems to tie everything it does to its green agenda I wonder how giving 6 months of free rides on a toll road fits in....I guess the answer is given by how many ministers are tweeting about this road...but Glen Murray is not.

Well, they haven't announced a date yet when the tolls kick in (just "sometime in 2017").

I believe the same was done for the original 407 (free for awhile). It makes perfect sense really (like a UPX free weekend to get people to try it out).

 

[TOareaFan]

Well, they haven't announced a date yet when the tolls kick in (just "sometime in 2017").

Actually they did not say "sometime in 2017" they said "until the new year"...that seems pretty clear to me it is the balance of this year.

The highway will be open from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road in Oshawa. Highway 412, which connects Highway 407 and Highway 401, will also open. There will be a toll-free period on the new Highways 407 and 412 until the new year, allowing drivers to travel on these roads free of charge. Following that, tolls will be in place.

I believe the same was done for the original 407 (free for awhile). It makes perfect sense really (like a UPX free weekend to get people to try it out).

That is why I said...."From a marketing persepective making it free for a period is a good move to get people hooked on the road ".....but from the perspective of the gov'ts green agenda...it seems strange.

 

[DavidH]

Well, they haven't announced a date yet when the tolls kick in (just "sometime in 2017").

The press release I linked to above says "until the new year". That may not be a specific date but it very strongly implies "until January 1".

 

[darth_freeman]

That is why I said...."From a marketing persepective making it free for a period is a good move to get people hooked on the road ".....but from the perspective of the gov'ts green agenda...it seems strange.

Not sure why it is assumed the government has a "green agenda". This highway extension has been in planning since the 90s and historically the toll roads always have a free period.

 

[TOareaFan]

Not sure why it is assumed the government has a "green agenda".

We don't have to assume anything...the government is very proud of their climate change plan and promotes "green" at every opportunity....here is a recent quote from the Premier:

“Ontario is a world leader in the fight against climate change. We are committed to creating a low-carbon economy that will drive innovation, create more opportunities for business and industry, and generate high-value jobs. Our government’s Climate Change Action Plan is laying the foundation for cleaner air, a healthier environment, a stronger economy and a better future for our children and grandchildren.”

All I am saying is that encouraging people to ride a road that is supposed to be tolled for free for 6 months is contrary to that plan/agenda

This highway extension has been in planning since the 90s and historically the toll roads always have a free period.

Yes it was planned....as a toll road......."historically"?....we have one example and, yes, the original privately built 407 was free for a period of time...but that was not a "plan"....the road was ready before the tolling technology so the operators decided to open the road in advance of the tolling tech being ready.

 

[crs1026]

All I am saying is that encouraging people to ride a road that is supposed to be tolled for free for 6 months is contrary to that plan/agenda[

The toll is to reclaim the capital and operating costs of the highway. The green agenda is addressed through the carbon tax. If the absence of a toll creates an incentive to drive more, the carbon tax on the added gas used mitigates that.

Given that we need to coax motorists away from the untolled 401 onto the tolled 407, a loss leader makes good sense.

Reducing comgestion on the 401 has a green benefit, in a small way, so every car switching to the 407 helps.

- Paul

 

[TransitBart]

Seriously. Has anyone tried to get (in a car) from DVP and 401 to Whitby recently? Who cares about any agenda other than getting home or to work without losing your sanity? The government has botched the transit file so badly that the health, convenience and sanity argument comes out way ahead of the green agenda. I do not deny climate change issues for a moment. They are real and scary. But so is commuting in Toronto after 30 years of visionless provincial , and various city politics. I hope the political crowd are on their toes and best behaviour on transportation.

My dad used to come home and take me to sports and other evening events. Good luck for GTA families today. It's a terrible shame that long commutes are disrupting family life; actually life in general for so many.

 

[MisterF]

Seriously. Has anyone tried to get (in a car) from DVP and 401 to Whitby recently? Who cares about any agenda other than getting home or to work without losing your sanity? The government has botched the transit file so badly that the health, convenience and sanity argument comes out way ahead of the green agenda. I do not deny climate change issues for a moment. They are real and scary. But so is commuting in Toronto after 30 years of visionless provincial , and various city politics. I hope the political crowd are on their toes and best behaviour on transportation.

My dad used to come home and take me to sports and other evening events. Good luck for GTA families today. It's a terrible shame that long commutes are disrupting family life; well life in general for so many.

Well to be fair, that's why the government is investing so heavily in transit and, in the case of the example you gave, RER service on the GO Lakeshore East line. Highway congestion will always be there no matter how many highway expansions are built. The days of an effortless drive downtown are gone forever. That's just the way it is in big cities. The only way forward is to make it easier to get around without a car.

Assuming you live in Whitby, you're lucky enough to live near a GO line with trains leaving every half an hour all day. Your dad can take a train now instead of driving.

 

[wopchop]

Well to be fair, that's why the government is investing so heavily in transit and, in the case of the example you gave, RER service on the GO Lakeshore East line. Highway congestion will always be there no matter how many highway expansions are built. The days of an effortless drive downtown are gone forever. That's just the way it is in big cities. The only way forward is to make it easier to get around without a car.

Assuming you live in Whitby, you're lucky enough to live near a GO line with trains leaving every half an hour all day. Your dad can take a train now instead of driving.

Assuming, of course, that he works downtown, and not somewhere along the 401, like the thousands upon thousands of other people that also do?