2015 Pan Am Games - High Occupancy Lanes

[ZX600]

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lol yea - Like the Bus only lane on the DVP, never seen a damn Bus on it but yet there is a bottle neck of traffic going North because of it.

Just amazing

Don't give them ideas, the opposite will happen.
Next thing you know, they are going to create High Occupancy Lanes on the 401 for 18 wheelers, all the way from Oshawa to Milton...

Other idea is eliminate some of the damn Merging points. Everyone knows the biggest bottle neck going west from the east end starts at Morningside, the reason is some of the merging lanes from the Express and the way they are setup. Get rid of that Merge from Express to collectors and collectors to express after Morningside and use all that real state to increase lanes. Anyone can merge earlier since there are other entrances before and after.

If these ****ing politicians really gave a damn, they would drive through those hot sports themselves and realize that something needs to be done, but I am sure they all mostly bought homes close to City Hall so they didn't have to commute, great to be able to afford it.

No one gives a damn about real solutions because commuters don't vote in Toronto, so they keep talking about subways while the HWY's get worse and worse.

 

[CafeRay]

l

No one gives a damn about real solutions because commuters don't vote in Toronto, so they keep talking about subways while the HWY's get worse and worse.

Highways are Ontario, not Toronto, and at some point, people who decide to commute 50km or more each way need to snap out of it and live where they work, not complain about all the other people on the roads just like them.

 

[ZX600]

Highways are Ontario, not Toronto, and at some point, people who decide to commute 50km or more each way need to snap out of it and live where they work, not complain about all the other people on the roads just like them.

mmmkkaayyy, let me buy a house in Yonge and Eglinton, wait I don't have 1.3 million to buy piece of crap house.

So what you are saying is that the problem is people being pushed away from the city in order to have some kind of decent living and not the lack of planning and investment?

Screw you all commuters, move closer is the solution, damn why didn't i think about it before. The problem with the TTC is that people should be more considered and buy something beside their work so they didn't have to use the train.

Ok buddy! I am not going to get into a GTAM pissing match.

 

[CafeRay]

mmmkkaayyy, let me buy a house in Yonge and Eglinton, wait I don't have 1.3 million to buy piece of crap house.

There are people working in the West GTA, living in the East GTA and vice versa. Tens of thousands of them. Maybe they would have better jobs if they could do math, and figure out that the $100K they saved on their suburban shack is quickly made up with having to lease new cars every three years, >$10K gas bills, plus the life of sitting in traffic for 2-3 hours of every day.

Traffic complainers are just annoyed that there are so many people just like them, and everyone else should be off the roads.

 

[ZX600]

There are people working in the West GTA, living in the East GTA and vice versa. Tens of thousands of them. Maybe they would have better jobs if they could do math, and figure out that the $100K they saved on their suburban shack is quickly made up with having to lease new cars every three years, >$10K gas bills, plus the life of sitting in traffic for 2-3 hours of every day.

Traffic complainers are just annoyed that there are so many people just like them, and everyone else should be off the roads.

The problem is that the difference is not 100k or 200 or even 300k.

I am not complaining about others trying to use the same road as i do, what bothers me is the lack of a plan. I moved to Durham 2 years ago, since then I have seen a huge increase in congestion but yet I have yet to see any plans to figure out a plan.

Because of it, I sold my house and bought another about 30km closer to work, I was in a bidding war with 8 other people, I had to go many thousands above asking price in order to win the house.

Too much to ask for a plan? some kind of long term vision?

 

[-D-]

no money in solutions
think about it
if you are a roof repair person it's in your financial best interest to keep patching the same roof for the next 50 years instead of replacing it...right
but ethical people find solutions

 

[CanadianBiker]

Highways are Ontario, not Toronto, and at some point, people who decide to commute 50km or more each way need to snap out of it and live where they work, not complain about all the other people on the roads just like them.

"Live where you work" seems to have become the mantra of many, particularly the anti-car crowd, whenever the topic of commuting/transit comes up.
Here's a scenario: two adults working full time in good jobs for which they have invested considerable money and effort to be qualified, two kids in school. Both adults work within 5kms of home, ditto for kids going to school. Just peachy so far, right?
Adult 1 loses his job (reason doesn't matter but let's assume no fault of his own). He has marketable skills but competition for jobs is significant.
After several months, he finds a new job in his field at close to his former salary. But it's across town, with no reasonable transit option, i.e., transit takes more than two hours each way and involves three separate transit agencies with associated fares for each, and walking the last six blocks, not a pleasant prospect in winter.

So following "live where you work", does he:

A) uproot the whole family, forcing his wife to quit her job and look for a new one in the new neighbourhood
B) turn down the job, with the liklihood of not having another similar opportunity in the foreseeable future
C) turn down the job and try to find something closer to (the current) home not in his field and for much less money, impacting the entire family
D) take the job, make the commute and hope to God one day a politician will actually do what they say and address the issues of long distance commuting and stop pandering to the bicycle-riding downtowners

"Live where you work" is wholly unsustainable for the vast majority of people. Unless you have some kind of written guarantee of a job for life at the same location, chances are you will change jobs at some point in your life. If you have a family, it affects them. If you own your home, it means going through the hassle of selling and buying.
It's great for the single, rootless renter with no ties but I imagine it gets old rather quickly.

I work where I have to and live where I want to (and can afford and feel I get value for my money).
I lived in Caledon for many years, worked in Mississauga and Brampton and Toronto. Wasn't about to move every time I switched jobs.
Moved to K-W just over two years ago and love it. Downsized the house (kids are gone, not encouraging their return), did reasonably well monetarily on the deal. Wife and I both work in Toronto at the moment (she contracts) so we drive in together. We are able to adjust our hours so we avoid peak travel times. Once her contract is over, I will go back to taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month.
Worth every penny to be as far as possible from the ******** that is Toronto.

 

[Dresden]

"Live where you work" seems to have become the mantra of many, particularly the anti-car crowd, whenever the topic of commuting/transit comes up.
Here's a scenario: two adults working full time in good jobs for which they have invested considerable money and effort to be qualified, two kids in school. Both adults work within 5kms of home, ditto for kids going to school. Just peachy so far, right?
Adult 1 loses his job (reason doesn't matter but let's assume no fault of his own). He has marketable skills but competition for jobs is significant.
After several months, he finds a new job in his field at close to his former salary. But it's across town, with no reasonable transit option, i.e., transit takes more than two hours each way and involves three separate transit agencies with associated fares for each, and walking the last six blocks, not a pleasant prospect in winter.

So following "live where you work", does he:

A) uproot the whole family, forcing his wife to quit her job and look for a new one in the new neighbourhood
B) turn down the job, with the liklihood of not having another similar opportunity in the foreseeable future
C) turn down the job and try to find something closer to (the current) home not in his field and for much less money, impacting the entire family
D) take the job, make the commute and hope to God one day a politician will actually do what they say and address the issues of long distance commuting and stop pandering to the bicycle-riding downtowners

"Live where you work" is wholly unsustainable for the vast majority of people. Unless you have some kind of written guarantee of a job for life at the same location, chances are you will change jobs at some point in your life. If you have a family, it affects them. If you own your home, it means going through the hassle of selling and buying.
It's great for the single, rootless renter with no ties but I imagine it gets old rather quickly.

I work where I have to and live where I want to (and can afford and feel I get value for my money).
I lived in Caledon for many years, worked in Mississauga and Brampton and Toronto. Wasn't about to move every time I switched jobs.
Moved to K-W just over two years ago and love it. Downsized the house (kids are gone, not encouraging their return), did reasonably well monetarily on the deal. Wife and I both work in Toronto at the moment (she contracts) so we drive in together. We are able to adjust our hours so we avoid peak travel times. Once her contract is over, I will go back to taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month.
Worth every penny to be as far as possible from the ******** that is Toronto.

Don't worry.. according to CafeRay, you have to live in the storage closet of your office. Otherwise, you are doing it wrong by wasting money commuting and wronging everyone else by clogging up the roadways too.

 

[Bermuda]

Everything you've said here is spot on with what many people have to deal with. However, there is one thing which makes me cringe:

"taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month".

4 hours, everyday, lost. Stuck on a cramped, unreliable train. That's 20 hours in a work week. That's HALF of a standard work week. Just under half of your net income at the end of the year, not being earned despite spending that time on your job. Then there is the $7200 to pay for the privilege.

To each their own, definitely, but that's a tough pill to swallow.

 

[MarcosSantiago]

Everything you've said here is spot on with what many people have to deal with. However, there is one thing which makes me cringe:

"taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month".

4 hours, everyday, lost. Stuck on a cramped, unreliable train. That's 20 hours in a work week. That's HALF of a standard work week. Just under half of your net income at the end of the year, not being earned despite spending that time on your job. Then there is the $7200 to pay for the privilege.

To each their own, definitely, but that's a tough pill to swallow.

But the two hours are not necessarily lost.
There are many ways to take advanatage of that time. It is all up to the commuter.

 

[CanadianBiker]

Everything you've said here is spot on with what many people have to deal with. However, there is one thing which makes me cringe:

"taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month".

4 hours, everyday, lost. Stuck on a cramped, unreliable train. That's 20 hours in a work week. That's HALF of a standard work week. Just under half of your net income at the end of the year, not being earned despite spending that time on your job. Then there is the $7200 to pay for the privilege.

To each their own, definitely, but that's a tough pill to swallow.

Yup, it is, but the plan is that it's relatively short term, in that my wife can retire within a couple years and I can follow suit shortly thereafter.
I'm fortunate with my current job in that the remuneration is good and I can work from home one or two days a week. I know at least some of my fellow train passengers make the trek five days a week for considerably less money.
Yes, I could probably find work in my field in K-W but for maybe half the money, which means working for many more years.
Or I could move to Toronto, pay an exorbitant amount for a tiny dwelling in a questionable neighbourhood and spend only half as much time commuting by TTC. But be no further ahead financially and likely quite a bit behind.
It's funny, but I'd say roughly 60% of my workplace commutes by GO. Those who live in Toronto prefer to drive, by a large margin. So, from our office at least, the majority of cars on TO roads are TO residents, avoiding the TTC.

 

[nfq]

the majority of cars on TO roads are TO residents, avoiding the TTC.

truth.

 

[ZX600]

There is also the small fact that If everyone decided that Caferay is a genius (cough) and decided to move to Toronto and had the money to do it, there aren't enough houses for everyone that commutes to buy, simply the majority have no choice but to commute.

 

[CafeRay]

Everything you've said here is spot on with what many people have to deal with. However, there is one thing which makes me cringe:

"taking the GO train, at two hours each way and $600 a month".

4 hours, everyday, lost. Stuck on a cramped, unreliable train. That's 20 hours in a work week. That's HALF of a standard work week. Just under half of your net income at the end of the year, not being earned despite spending that time on your job. Then there is the $7200 to pay for the privilege.

So your car, insurance and gas are free? And commuting via the 400 highways is a reliable way to get to work on time? Tell us more!

$7200 is half your net income? If it is, you are commuting all that way for one crappy job.

If people think commuting from Barrie to Toronto or across the entire GTA makes any sense, it may explain why they can't hold down a better job.

 

[CafeRay]

There is also the small fact that If everyone decided that Caferay is a genius (cough) and decided to move to Toronto and had the money to do it, there aren't enough houses for everyone that commutes to buy, simply the majority have no choice but to commute.

This is typical Torontard thinking. Any job tying you to work in downtown Toronto better be paying >$100K, otherwise, there are better much better cities to live in in Ontario that also have cubicle jobs.

 

[Bermuda]

So your car, insurance and gas are free? And commuting via the 400 highways is a reliable way to get to work on time? Tell us more!

$7200 is half your net income? If it is, you are commuting all that way for one crappy job.

If people think commuting from Barrie to Toronto or across the entire GTA makes any sense, it may explain why they can't hold down a better job.

I live and work downtown. My commute is 20-30 minutes one way, either by foot or TTC. I am strong believer in living close to work. My work hours are inconsistent and the ability to make an appearance with a 10 minute cab ride is an asset. I don't own a car and my lifestyle is accommodating.

I am also fortunate enough to be able to afford it. The $7200 was in reference to the noted $600/month for a year of long distance GO Train commuting (do the math).


But I entirely sympathize with everyone who has to make long and distant commutes on a daily basis. My parents have lived in the same, personally-owned home for the last 25 years. My mothers job site is one of two locations on an altering basis - both 15km apart. My father works everywhere from Scarborough to Kitchener, moving once or twice a year. While living where you work sounds lovely, it is simply a non-starter for a lot of people. People need roads. They serve a purpose, they should be designed to serve it well.

Oh, and in the off-season I have to deal with GO when I want to get out there and visit.

 

[-D-]

caferay could be a trust fund baby hence his views

 

[CanadianBiker]

So your car, insurance and gas are free? And commuting via the 400 highways is a reliable way to get to work on time? Tell us more!

$7200 is half your net income? If it is, you are commuting all that way for one crappy job.

If people think commuting from Barrie to Toronto or across the entire GTA makes any sense, it may explain why they can't hold down a better job.

The car and insurance are fixed costs; I would have them anyway. As I mentioned, we are able to have some flexibility in our hours, so we travel during off peak times. And yes, the 400 series highways have proven to be a lot more reliable than the GO train. I have taken the train for over 10 years and it is plagued with delays and cancellations. Driving takes half the time, I have the luxury of traveling when I want, I can take alternate routes if need be, and it's a nice opportunity for my wife and I to spend a bit of time together. Beats sitting in front of the TV.
As Bermuda already carefully explained to you, his comments were in regard to the total amount of time spent at work and travelling to and from work; taking the train, it effectively forces me into a 60 hour work week, although I'm only paid for 40 of those, so the overall result is that I am unpaid for 20 of those hours or my pay is distributed across 60, not 40 hours, however you want to look at it. Bermuda is absolutely correct.
Given that you know nothing about me and my career, I can only assume that your comment about not being able to hold down a better job is supposed to be some kind of insult, displaying your moral and intellectual superiority. Whatever you need to do to make you feel better about yourself, you go right ahead. My wife and I are comfortable with our choices from all aspects, including the years we invested in our education and advancement in our respective fields. We can absorb the costs of commuting without hardship. Ours are not "McJobs" and not easily replaced. The upside is that we are also not easily replaced, though who knows.
If you are able to live within a very close distance of your work and sustain that for the 40-odd years of your working life, good for you; I hope the extra time and money it affords you serve you well. But recognise that few people can, for any number of reasons.
If you feel you can participate in at least a semi-civil discussion, I'd still be interested in your response to the scenario I posted. If not, have a good day.

 

[ZX600]

This is typical Torontard thinking. Any job tying you to work in downtown Toronto better be paying >$100K, otherwise, there are better much better cities to live in in Ontario that also have cubicle jobs.

I wonder in what fantasy bubble you live in?

Maybe you are a Starbucks barrista that has the freedom to find a job anywhere in the city, I am not so I am limited to work at my head office. Find another job is not an option since I really do like working for my company and get paid well.

 

[mxs]

It's interesting to see how transit became the thing, mainly due to the Ford's view of subways and subsequent mayoral and provincial election campaigns I think. But this is not a problem magically just surfacing up ... it has been in making for good two decades (by having no comprehensive plan and brutally underfunding the project). When I moved to GTA in 1999, it didn't take me more than a few months to realize that this place will be in a trouble relatively soon, unless someone makes a quick and wise decision .... nobody has, so people has started to feel it. It will get a lot worse before it gets better ....

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