Completely preventable traffic jams

[cbranje]

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If they had just finished putting down some fresh pavement they don't want cars driving on it right away.

There are a million engineering solutions to this problem. Many don't involved backing up traffic for 10s KMs. Its just lazy engineering.

Also that would explain 1 lane closed only. Not the second middle lane which has old pavement.

Sorry still not convinced this is anything but laziness and/or incompetence.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

There are a million engineering solutions to this problem. Many don't involved backing up traffic for 10s KMs. Its just lazy engineering.

Also that would explain 1 lane closed only. Not the second middle lane which has old pavement.

Sorry still not convinced this is anything but laziness and/or incompetence.

Depends on how much more those "engineering solutions" would cost the city. Sometimes you just have to inconvenience SOME people, in order to best serve a greater number. Not that Toronto Public Works don't seem to consistently screw up by blocking parallel routes or doing non time-sensitive work during rush hour, but they aren't wrong ALL the time.

 

[cbranje]

No this west of that at Coxwell and Gardiner exit.

 

[Deimos]

I prevent myself from getting into traffic jams by living closer to work, schools, and everything in between

I don't know how the rest of you haven't jumped off the CN tower yet.

 

[cbranje]

Depends on how much more those "engineering solutions" would cost the city. Sometimes you just have to inconvenience SOME people, in order to best serve a greater number. Not that Toronto Public Works don't seem to consistently screw up by blocking parallel routes or doing non time-sensitive work during rush hour, but they aren't wrong ALL the time.

Even if we're looking at 1000s of extra dollars, its worth it. This is exactly the type of stuff tax money should be going towards.

Its not only about convenience, but safety. Having traffic stopped dead on the Gardiner at the Jarvis exit, while understandably impatient drivers weave in an out of traffic is just asking for trouble. Totally worth any extra cost.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

Even if we're looking at 1000s of extra dollars, its worth it. This is exactly the type of stuff tax money should be going towards.

Its not only about convenience, but safety. Having traffic stopped dead on the Gardiner at the Jarvis exit, while understandably impatient drivers weave in an out of traffic is just asking for trouble. Totally worth any extra cost.

Not necessarily. You could be looking at HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars. The city is broke. It doesn't have the money to burn, nor should it spend extra money simply to avoid inconveniencing some. It has virtually nothing to do with safety, as the speeds involved are low, as long as "Slow: Construction Ahead" signs are present. Very few people in this world die of chronic impatience.

Now if you want to talk about never replacing another streetcar track, well that's a different story altogether. Streetcars are inefficient and costly, and their routes are much better, and more effectively served by buses.

 

[Flashmonkey]

There are a million engineering solutions to this problem. Many don't involved backing up traffic for 10s KMs. Its just lazy engineering.

I'd say it's lazy project management....which is the real problem with city projects. That and ridiculously low project budgets....

Edit: you know what....lazy project management is the problem with most construction projects, but the City is particularly bad at it. Same with public school boards.

 

[ZX600]

Personally, I hate the Westbound stretch between Brock Street & Salem Rd. There's a small bend in the road, and for some idiotic reason, people fear their car may understeer and end up taking this corner at a breakneck 100km/h. It's obvious because the highway clears up after that bend, and people return to driving 120-130km/h, even though the number of lanes remain the same.

oh my goodness, so that's what that traffic jam was all about. I was there a few days ago and wondered how did the traffic open up for no reason.....I hate people, so damn stupid

 

[rafiki911]

Take those pics and send a nice letter to Ford.

oh my goodness, so that's what that traffic jam was all about. I was there a few days ago and wondered how did the traffic open up for no reason.....I hate people, so damn stupid

^this. lol

 

[cbranje]

Not necessarily. You could be looking at HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars. The city is broke. It doesn't have the money to burn, nor should it spend extra money simply to avoid inconveniencing some. It has virtually nothing to do with safety, as the speeds involved are low, as long as "Slow: Construction Ahead" signs are present. Very few people in this world die of chronic impatience.

Now if you want to talk about never replacing another streetcar track, well that's a different story altogether. Streetcars are inefficient and costly, and their routes are much better, and more effectively served by buses.

100 G's to park a loader down the street and put a few metal covers on the road? I think that's unrealistic. Giving more a little more forethought to project planning in terms of scheduling is basically free.

Traffic was backed up ALL THE WAY DOWN THE GARDINER. I was doing the speed limit, 90, and came to cars the were completely stopped.

Absolutely no signage until you were meter's away from Coxwell which is a few KM's ahead.

Agree on the Streetcars though.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

100 G's to park a loader down the street and put a few metal covers on the road? I think that's unrealistic. Giving more a little more forethought to project planning in terms of scheduling is basically free.

Traffic was backed up ALL THE WAY DOWN THE GARDINER. I was doing the speed limit, 90, and came to cars the were completely stopped.

Absolutely no signage until you were meter's away from Coxwell which is a few KM's ahead.

Agree on the Streetcars though.

No, hundreds of thousands of dollars more for an 'engineering solution', which is what you stated. That would be something like performing subterranean work, rather than top-down digging. Then again doing the work in off hours would also be far more expensive, as workers would be receiving extra for off-hours work. Even then, they'd need to store the equipment somewhere between work days. That would mean blocking the street through the day, rather than overnight.

Lack of signage is inexcusable.

I really wish that this city would get off the stupid streetcar kick. They aren't cute or touristy. They're just monumentally inconvenient and inefficient, from a real world standpoint. Close a street to work on the watermains, and you lose the route. With a bus you just go around.

 

[RetroGrouch]

I really wish that this city would get off the stupid streetcar kick. They aren't cute or touristy. They're just monumentally inconvenient and inefficient, from a real world standpoint. Close a street to work on the watermains, and you lose the route. With a bus you just go around.

Unions love streetcars. If they are gone, so would the countless hours it takes to repair and maintain the cars, tracks and overhead wires.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

Unions love streetcars. If they are gone, so would the countless hours it takes to repair and maintain the cars, tracks and overhead wires.

So in other words, it would decrease the operational costs to the TTC, considerably. I really don't understand the people who are so tied to these things. Do they thing Toronto is San Francisco, or something?!

 

[Flashmonkey]

So in other words, it would decrease the operational costs to the TTC, considerably. I really don't understand the people who are so tied to these things. Do they thing Toronto is San Francisco, or something?!

I think there's a belief that adding street cars would somehow reduce car traffic. That's not how Toronto works. I don't think that's how Toronto will ever work.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

I think there's a belief that adding street cars would somehow reduce car traffic. That's not how Toronto works. I don't think that's how Toronto will ever work.

Who could ever think that stopping TWO lanes of traffic, at every stop, would reduce traffic issues? Oh, nevermind. All those people who think that making things as tough as possible, for drivers, will automatically make them jump on transit.

 

[Flashmonkey]

Who could ever think that stopping TWO lanes of traffic, at every stop, would reduce traffic issues? Oh, nevermind. All those people who think that making things as tough as possible, for drivers, will automatically make them jump on transit.

LOL yup....Miller was big on this philosophy. That whole Transit City light rail plan was based on this idea as well. I thought it was a good idea at first but the more I looked at it the more I realized what a big PITA that would've been to live with.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

LOL yup....Miller was big on this philosophy. That whole Transit City light rail plan was based on this idea as well. I thought it was a good idea at first but the more I looked at it the more I realized what a big PITA that would've been to live with.

It's a cart before the horse type of attitude. You can't push people onto transit that doesn't exist, isn't convenient where it does exist, and is comparable in cost to a personal vehicle. You have to create the transit, make it affordable and convenient, and people will simply start using it.

 

[cbranje]

No, hundreds of thousands of dollars more for an 'engineering solution', which is what you stated. That would be something like performing subterranean work, rather than top-down digging. Then again doing the work in off hours would also be far more expensive, as workers would be receiving extra for off-hours work. Even then, they'd need to store the equipment somewhere between work days. That would mean blocking the street through the day, rather than overnight.

Lack of signage is inexcusable.

I really wish that this city would get off the stupid streetcar kick. They aren't cute or touristy. They're just monumentally inconvenient and inefficient, from a real world standpoint. Close a street to work on the watermains, and you lose the route. With a bus you just go around.

By engineering solution, I meant covering it temporarily with wood or metal or something.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

By engineering solution, I meant covering it temporarily with wood or metal or something.

That's not engineering, it's a manhole cover.

 

[fastar1]

Since when does parking a loader in a spot that is not stupid require "doing it for a living"

Since always.

I would posit that the loader was parked there intelligently, for the strategic purpose of blocking traffic. I can see how they might have been concerned with people driving through the cones to turn right at the corner by exploiting what would they would unwisely see as you did, an empty lane. Or, drivers pulling out of the drive entrance where you were standing to take the picture, might be tempted to turn onto the right-most lane to avoid trying to merge with a blocked left lane.

All this of course presupposes that they really, really didn't want people driving on those lanes.

But of course you could be right, and they blocked lanes unnecessarily since I'm sure they never give it any thought.

Or, you might just have issues with authority as evidenced by your refusal to pay your traffic tickets and ensuing suggestion to skip paying your license renewal, and your threads on fighting and questioning the system at every corner. In that case, I would like to speak on behalf of all seven billion other people on the planet and apologise for inconveniencing your life for the sake of the rest of us with our petty laws, rules, and procedures that don't put you on a pedestal. Sorry.

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