General Road and Highway Discussion

[p2ee]

It is a different argument with respect to whether HST should count toward subsidies but it is not off-topic with respect to the original article that spurred this entire discussion. We hear how drivers are taking and taking from the government and not giving very much back. The fact that hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada are dependent on this industry is entirely relevant to that argument, because government wants jobs to be created so it can earn income tax and sales tax from those jobs, and then provide services from those tax dollars.

[Markster]

Alright, I think that's been enough pages of debate on the financing of our road network for now.

I'd say that you have all done an admirable job of explaining your respective positions, and that further discussion is unlikely to be fruitful.

[timio]

In other news, Westheights got a new coat of asphalt last week. Still needs painting. Had some Frogger-like experiences last week with pylons, rollers, and steady traffic. Will be nice when it's complete.

[tomh009]

At least not in this thread ... if we split it into a separate thread, then people who want to argue this, can continue to do so, but not bother those who want to talk about roads in general.

[GtwoK]

I noticed that according to the King St reconstruction plan, Phase A of the construction (Bridgeport to Erb) is supposed to last 14 weeks, starting from April 17th. That brings completion of Phase A to the end of next week.... that CAN't be right. From what I've seen, they've barely even started on underground work from Bridgeport to Princess, and JUST started underground work From Princess to Dupont. How is all of that, PLUS electrical, PLUS installation of the underground tree-box things, PLUS curbs, PLUS lighting, PLUS asphalt supposed to be done by next week? How far behind are they on this?

[danbrotherston]

I noticed that according to the King St reconstruction plan, Phase A of the construction (Bridgeport to Erb) is supposed to last 14 weeks, starting from April 17th. That brings completion of Phase A to the end of next week.... that CAN't be right. From what I've seen, they've barely even started on underground work from Bridgeport to Princess, and JUST started underground work From Princess to Dupont. How is all of that, PLUS electrical, PLUS installation of the underground tree-box things, PLUS curbs, PLUS lighting, PLUS asphalt supposed to be done by next week? How far behind are they on this?

They are quite behind, as you surmise, they initially had issues with getting the water supply approved, which is apparently a time consuming process.  They have apparently brought in more crews however.  I am not sure what the current expected completion date will be though.

[embe]

Would the general public have access to more detailed info on timing with these sorts of projects? And I don't mean the "sometime between May and October, and if it's delayed you won't find out unless you drive by and it's still (or again suddenly) closed." ? I myself do a lot of driving and it seems to be a mixed bag of what to expect everyday

[jamincan]

The closure of the on-ramp from Bruce to 85 North was similarly surprising to me. Did they have signage up warning of the closure? I somehow was oblivious to it until suddenly one day it was closed.

[Coke6pk]

The closure of the on-ramp from Bruce to 85 North was similarly surprising to me. Did they have signage up warning of the closure? I somehow was oblivious to it until suddenly one day it was closed.

I first saw the sign the day before... Can't say when it went up as Bingeman Centre is my go-to route for now.

Coke

[sevenman]

The closure of the on-ramp from Bruce to 85 North was similarly surprising to me. Did they have signage up warning of the closure? I somehow was oblivious to it until suddenly one day it was closed

Was thinking the same thing.  The temporary detour on ramp they are constructing ( the reason for the closure ) cannot open until the existing Victoria Bridge is demolished.  The bridge was originally not scheduled to be demolished until November/December.

[Pheidippides]

I was thinking today that there is a bit of a double standard going on in terms outrage over road closures.

I mean where is the daily frenzy of hardship stories of the business struggling under construction chaos in uptown or in Cambridge? Why aren’t there constant reports of extensive delays, improper signage and communication, and traffic chaos? Could it be because it is for a “good cause” (a road project) and so that somehow makes it more worthy of tolerance and patience as an expected cost of doing business, but when a similar project (for LRT) it is newsworthy rabble rousing fodder for the masses? Maybe everyone just assumes the closures in Uptown are still related to Ion and they've run out of rage for that project?

[Canard]

I work in Cambridge, and believe me, the mood there is very, very bad toward everything going on at Fountain/Shantz Hill.

[DHLawrence]

I live in Cambridge; ditto. People are pissed off to no end. City Cafe is the only business that closed so far. The line to get into town goes back to Tulane sometimes. Closing the Grand River bridge on Fountain did NOT help matters. I've said it before: between this and the 401, they need to make an addition to the signs at the edge of town: "Welcome to Cambridge. Sorry, we're closed!"

[SammyOES2]

Maybe there's just less media coverage of it because road work isn't as exciting as LRT road work.

[Bob_McBob]

Plenty of people on social media seem to think the uptown streetscape closures are ION construction.