Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph

[danbrotherston]

Existing highway 7 isn't particularly fast and it's also dangerous as currently set up.  Any real upgrade would require an extra lane in each direction, a middle turning lane, and paved shoulders.  So effectively adding 5 lanes in most places.  

There's also going to be a lot of development along the highway that is likely going to add a number of intersections and/or roundabouts (not to mention a lot more traffic).

I think the case is fairly strong for building the highway.

I've always wondered if it and Hwy 6 between the 401 and 403 could be given the Hwy 11 treatment.  Between Barrie and Orillia Hwy 11 had a center median erected, with bridges and ramps every few kilometers to allow for turn backs.  This completely eliminated left turns and up'd the safety of the highway tremendously, speeding it up without having to build an entirely new highway that would steal traffic away from the existing businesses which lined it.  I think it was a brilliant solution that should be used more often.

Highway 35/115 has the same treatment.  It certainly could work in some places, like highway 7 between Guelph and KW for example.

It isn't ideal in some other cases, highway 6 goes through cities, and those should be bypassed, making highway 6 an even bigger barrier would destroy those towns (not that such things would stop MTO), certainly farther south it is an option.

Of course, I'm not sure why they refuse to consider options like this, opting instead for larger mega projects.  It's the one time I am conservative (little c of course, the PCs have no interest in these ideas either), often there are lower cost, lower impact ways of doing things, that we skip.  On a smaller scale, the Spur Line Trail was completely rebuilt from scratch behind Lens Mills, even though the pavement was new, I feel like there should be ways to do better there.