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Renumbering our Highways
#1
Being a new person to Waterloo Region, I have found that trying to explain our expressway system to people is challenging. For instance, travelling from 401 West you exit at highway 7/8 west then take 7/85 East/North? You continue on 85 North. This part of the world seems to dislike cardinal points for some reason. Maybe someone has written a book about this?

It will become more confusing when there is a highway 7 shaped like a T with a leg to Cambridge, Guelph and Stratford... yes I suppose it already is shaped like a T. 

In any event, I recall on WW we had a little discussion about 400 highway naming conventions. I thought I would doodle a suggestion here just for kicks. 

I propose an easier naming system where 7/8 from Stratford to 401 will be named 408. 85 Will be named 485 and the new highway 7 that will run to Guelph and inevitably be connected to an upgraded expressway version of highway 6 be renamed 406. 

For giggles.

[Image: renumbering_zps418b2d5a-1.jpg]
_____________________________________
I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.
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#2
What do you plan on renumbering the existing 406?
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#3
Well, Highway 406 already exists (in the Niagara peninsula). 408 is available.

It seems to me that Highway 7 runs east-west from Stratford to Guelph through Kitchener, and Highway 85 runs north-south (or so) from Highway 8 to Waterloo. They are concurrent through part of Kitchener.

If anything, I think 85 is a little superfluous as it feels like an extension of the 8 (I know that 8 is actually King).

I don't think the current system is too too confusing.
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#4
Note also that by convention in the 4nn numbering system, for east/west roads nn is supposed to be odd (e.g. 401) and for north/south roads nn is supposed to be even (e.g. 400.)

As for screwed up road numbering in the region, at least we're consistently inconsistent. Where else on the planet is the main road through the region (Waterloo Regional Road 15 aka King St.) designated East, West, South and North at various points along its run even though its general direction is north/south? 
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#5
Doesn't a 4nn-series highway have a different set of standards than a non-4nn highway? The biggest difference that I can think of is that a 4nn-series highway is provincially funded, by non-4nn series highways are owned by the province, region or local municipality depending on how the downloading/uploading has gone.
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#6
All of the freeways in our area except for 85 are considered to be parts of a longer highway.

Quote:Ontario freeways do not receive a 400-series number unless they are designed to be complete controlled-access freeways for their whole length. The non 400-series routes listed below have significant open-access portions besides the freeway section, with the freeway segment typically being a small section not at the route's termini.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ont...xpressways
For instance the western segment of 7 runs from from London to Peel and and 8 from Goderich to Dundas.
Possibly changing the north south route from 401 to RR 15 to 485 would make sense and have 8 remain interlined from the Parkway until the 401 since highway 85 (as a provincial highway) is a freeway for its entire length.
If they did change the criteria the the East West route + the new highway to Guelph could get its own designation, although it would all be part of highway 7.
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#7
(01-26-2015, 01:30 PM)nms Wrote: Doesn't a 4nn-series highway have a different set of standards than a non-4nn highway?  The biggest difference that I can think of  is that a 4nn-series highway is provincially funded, by non-4nn series highways are owned by the province, region or local municipality depending on how the downloading/uploading has gone.

I'm not entirely clear why none of the KW highways are classified as 400 series. Perhaps they're short enough sections that they didn't see the point? Then again, that didn't stop them from creating the 406 or 409.

What they could eventually do is number the highway from New Hamburg through to Guelph on the new Hwy 7 as 408, and then number the existing 8 from the 401 and then continuing to Elmira as 411 or some other number with the two running concurrently for a brief time.
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#8
Great thread idea.

This is something I've thought of for a while. Particularly when trying to explain our road system to others.

Given that highways 7 and 8 are part of bigger highways as neonjoe pointed out, why not focus on the "Conestoga Expressway" part, give that it's own number, and have it run in two directions, North-East and South-West since the roads go South and to the West and East and to the North. Not sure they'd ever go for that though
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#9
Thanks for the encouragement Spokes. I feel like a dunce for not realizing there already was a 406. Oh well, it's always good to learn something new!
_____________________________________
I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.
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#10
(01-26-2015, 01:42 PM)jamincan Wrote: I'm not entirely clear why none of the KW highways are classified as 400 series. Perhaps they're short enough sections that they didn't see the point? Then again, that didn't stop them from creating the 406 or 409.

They aren't 100 Km/h limits (except Hwy 8 south of Sportsworld) and the interchanges are far too close together with sub-standard lengths and configuration (see Bridgeport / Lancaster weave).
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#11
I thought it was 100 south of Fairway Road. In any event, that's not necessarily a barrier either; the 403 from Aldershot to Hamilton Mountain has a 90 speed limit because of the terrain.
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#12
Yes the 90 km/h - 100 km/h switch is at the top of the hill at Fairway.
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#13
If you want to know more about Highway 85/Conestoga Parkway and how it came to be, which also might explain who owns what and why the numbers are the way they are, there is a new book out on the topic.  The author was interviewed this morning on the CBC and the book is available for sale at Words Worth Books but I can't for the life of me remember the title.  I took a look at the book last week in the store and it was full of all sorts of maps and pictures about what was planned, what might have been, and what actually happened.
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#14
(01-27-2015, 04:29 PM)nms Wrote: If you want to know more about Highway 85/Conestoga Parkway and how it came to be, which also might explain who owns what and why the numbers are the way they are, there is a new book out on the topic.  The author was interviewed this morning on the CBC and the book is available for sale at Words Worth Books but I can't for the life of me remember the title.  I took a look at the book last week in the store and it was full of all sorts of maps and pictures about what was planned, what might have been, and what actually happened.

See also this thread: Conestoga Parkway 
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#15
This is a silly idea.

The expressway from the 401 to the flyover is only highway 8. The expressway west of the flyover is both 7/8. The highway east of the flyover is highway 7 until the Victoria Street exit where it continues on Victoria Street, and north of Victoria Street it is highway 85 until it turns into a two lane road. There's no reason to put a 4 in front of it. The 85 and 86 had their numberings messed around with when the Harris cons downloaded highways onto counties.

Two highways can run on the same stretch of road. If you look at the signs on all these highways you'll see 7 and 8 shields. The same thing on the Hanlon expressway in Guelph, it's the 6 and the 7 for stretch from Woodlawn Road until Wellington Street.

Cardinal points are kinda useless for highways anyway, the QEW does fine with Toronto-bound and Niagara-bound.
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