Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph

[MidTowner]

5 years ago, I moved to the Chicopee area in anticipation of the Fairway bridge opening. When the bridge opened in December of 2012, it was a delightful drive down Kassouth and Chilligo, and up Speedvale. Fast forward to today, depending on time of day, that route is as busy, if not busier...

This is another good example of observing induced demand in action. A bridge opens, car travel is easier, and so more people get in their cars and drive the bridge, and car travel stops being so easy.

There’s no reason to believe this won’t happen, one day, to the new 7. My point is not that we shouldn’t build this highway (I don’t know). There are good reasons for wanting to link Guelph and KW in as many ways as possible. But, unless we start doing things differently in terms of road pricing and land use policies, there’s no reason to believe any given new road will make ease congestion in anything but the short term.