[Haljackey]

HOV lanes cause a lot of very bad behaviours on highways. You have the people who dive right for the HOV lane (I suppose for the novelty factor) to drive 95 in a 100 zone because they have 2 people in the car despite the highway being freeflowing. When this happens, you get a stream of people crossing the buffer to pass them on the right.

People need to understand that the HOV lane is not the passing lane, despite being the leftmost lane. It can be frustrating to be behind a slowpoke yes, but those are the dice you throw when you commit to using this lane. Just get out at the next weave zone if you want.

I wonder if making the HOV lanes open access would help. I know there are lots of examples in the states. I don't see why it would hurt to pilot such a thing.

Seeing how blatantly the HOV buffer is disregarded, I support this. Removing the buffer and cannibalizing a bit of the inner shoulder could give the highway room for another general lane too, depending on the config. I don't think the HOVs on the 401 express could be turned to two lanes, but the HOVs on the QEW could between the 403 and the 403.

 

[innsertnamehere]

An HOV buffer only adds 0.5 metres to a highway width. It's not really enough for an extra lane.

MTO could probably squeeze an extra lane on the QEW but it would have to accept substandard shoulder widths. A 5-lane cross section of GP lanes needs 18.75 metres of platform width excluding shoulders, the QEW is currently at around 15.5 to 16 metres in width. Getting it to 18.75 would require basically the full removal of the interior shoulder. That or accept smaller lane widths, which comes with it's own safety issues. Dropping lane widths to 3.65m (a standard more typically seen in the US with 12ft lanes) would cut half a metre off the platform width and would probably make a 10-lane cross section work with a minimal interior shoulder like what is on the 400.

 

[Bojaxs]

I find the HOV lanes to be entirely pointless. They're impossible to enforce. How is an OPP officer suppose to figure out if a single occupant vehicle using the HOV lane is cheating the system or has paid the toll to use the HOV lane?

I must admit I've driven on the HOV lane (for less than a minute) inorder to get around a slow poke in the left lane.

 

[ARG1]

People need to understand that the HOV lane is not the passing lane, despite being the leftmost lane. It can be frustrating to be behind a slowpoke yes, but those are the dice you throw when you commit to using this lane. Just get out at the next weave zone if you want.



Seeing how blatantly the HOV buffer is disregarded, I support this. Removing the buffer and cannibalizing a bit of the inner shoulder could give the highway room for another general lane too, depending on the config. I don't think the HOVs on the 401 express could be turned to two lanes, but the HOVs on the QEW could between the 403 and the 403.

Ideally yes, but in practice there's a reason why we don't put physical barriers on HOV lanes - if someone is driving egregiously slowly on HOV lanes (like 85) it's probably fine. The worst case scenarios are people (I've seen this happen many times) who drive like 90, then speed up to like 120 at the weave zone to prevent others from passing.

I find the HOV lanes to be entirely pointless. They're impossible to enforce. How is an OPP officer suppose to figure out if a single occupant vehicle using the HOV lane is cheating the system or has paid the toll to use the HOV lane?

I must admit I've driven on the HOV lane (for less than a minute) inorder to get around a slow poke in the left lane.

I think even in the worst case scenario, it isn't helpful to look at these things through absolutist lens. Some people merge into HOV lanes out of weave zones - but most people don't. Some people drive on HOV lanes without HOT passes or 2 passengers, most people don't. A few bad apples breaking the rules don't spoil the bunch in this circumstance.

 

[innsertnamehere]

My experience lately is that HOVs rarely operate with significant time savings over the GP lanes anyway. Or at least not on the QEW. There may be a marginal time difference in AM peak, but on weekends and during PM peak there is effectively no difference.

 

[north-of-anything]

My experience lately is that HOVs rarely operate with significant time savings over the GP lanes anyway. Or at least not on the QEW. There may be a marginal time difference in AM peak, but on weekends and during PM peak there is effectively no difference.

The HOV lane on 400 northbound was a lifesaver when the Highway 9 bottleneck stretched all the way to King City during the PM peak. Although you could also argue that backup exists only because the 4+1 arrangement ends at Highway 9 and shrinks down to 3.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The HOV lane on 400 northbound was a lifesaver when the Highway 9 bottleneck stretched all the way to King City during the PM peak. Although you could also argue that backup exists only because the 4+1 arrangement ends at Highway 9 and shrinks down to 3.

I drove the QEW HOVs this morning for example and it saved me maybe 30 seconds total. When the GP lanes slowed down, so did the HOVs.. just slightly less.

The one HOV that always saves a tonne of time is the SB 404 to WB 401 HOV ramp. That one is a really useful connection.

 

[Haljackey]

Planned highway and expansion projects in Toronto area

From this document- page 25

https://highway413.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Highway-413-draft-EIAR-December-2025.pdf

 

[Steve X]

Interesting to see the 424 is still on the long term radar.

 

[nfitz]

Interesting to see the 424 is still on the long term radar.

Especially while finishing the conversion of the Hanlon (6) to expressway isn't. Which is simply some overpasses at this point; the land and lanes already there, and not a single driveway need be touched.

I guess Guelph voted for the wrong party. Maybe this is why 7 keeps getting cancelled.

 

[ZEBuilder]

Especially while finishing the conversion of the Hanlon (6) to expressway isn't. Which is simply some overpasses at this point; the land and lanes already there, and not a single driveway need be touched.

I guess Guelph voted for the wrong party. Maybe this is why 7 keeps getting cancelled.

KW and Guelph have a tendency of voting for the wrong party when it comes to getting infrastructure funding.

There is progress on 7, tonight they're demolishing the Frederick Street bridge to allow for the wider highway alignment with the ramps.

The Grand River bridges are also in detailed design, really close to being completed. Much of the highway already has some aspects of the detailed design complete, for example the MTO has had detailed design FIDRs out for multiple high fill/deep cuts along the length, and for some of the bridges and flyover structures along the length.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Especially while finishing the conversion of the Hanlon (6) to expressway isn't. Which is simply some overpasses at this point; the land and lanes already there, and not a single driveway need be touched.

I guess Guelph voted for the wrong party. Maybe this is why 7 keeps getting cancelled.

The map isn't perfect - MTO is actively doing the EA to build interchanges on the Hanlon, it's definitely still on the books.

The map is missing a few other projects MTO is thinking of - HOVs on the QEW through Mississauga, 6-laning the QEW to the 420, HOV extension on the 404 up to Green Lane, Collingwood Bypass, etc.

MTO is definitely still thinking about the 424. Waterloo Region was going to build an eastern bypass of Cambridge which has mysteriously gone on hold at MTO's directive because of it - Waterloo region has only built the southern portion of it as a result.

 

[Civdis]

I wonder if item 15 (401 capacity expansion from 427-404) is our new tunnel LMAO! I don't see many other ways you could improve capacity through that stretch. That tunnel would cost more than the sum of every project on this map.