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QEW Toronto bound

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rfadister

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Hi All,

Planning to take QEW from Mississauga to go to work in D.T tomorrow. I know it's going to be as busy as the highway to hell but still planning to ride to work tomorrow for the first time.

Any precautions or No No's I should consider?

Thanks
 
Try not to get run over while getting bullied by people around you forcing their way in.
 
rfadister said:
Hi All,

Planning to take QEW from Mississauga to go to work in D.T tomorrow. I know it's going to be as busy as the highway to hell but still planning to ride to work tomorrow for the first time.

Any precautions or No No's I should consider?

Thanks
Click to expand...

It depends on where you're going downtown - if you're right downtown, don't get fooled into leaving the gardiner for the Lakeshore. It always looks good until you get close.
If you're getting off at Yonge - the ramps is supposed to be one lane, but it's generally treated as two - if you choose to take the right side option, be prepared for angry cagers on the left - and be super careful going through the intersection. The city has messed up both intersections at Harbour/Bay an Harbour/Yonge to be only one left turn lane north, when they used to be two. You have a very short distance to get over 3 lanes in traffic that is either accelerating madly to prevent anyone from moving over, or stopped dead trying to move over.
All that because the city thought it would be safer for pedestrians. Honest, I have a copy of the recommendation.
 
Time always helps, the earlier you go the better off you will be, if you can be on the highway by 7:30, you may have a chance to avoid the craptastic traffic.
 
markopas said:
Time always helps, the earlier you go the better off you will be, if you can be on the highway by 7:30, you may have a chance to avoid the craptastic traffic.
Click to expand...

+1... leave at 8, prepare to be late :)
 
Emefef said:
It depends on where you're going downtown - if you're right downtown, don't get fooled into leaving the gardiner for the Lakeshore. It always looks good until you get close.
If you're getting off at Yonge - the ramps is supposed to be one lane, but it's generally treated as two - if you choose to take the right side option, be prepared for angry cagers on the left - and be super careful going through the intersection. The city has messed up both intersections at Harbour/Bay an Harbour/Yonge to be only one left turn lane north, when they used to be two. You have a very short distance to get over 3 lanes in traffic that is either accelerating madly to prevent anyone from moving over, or stopped dead trying to move over.
All that because the city thought it would be safer for pedestrians. Honest, I have a copy of the recommendation.
Click to expand...

I take this route every morning. I work shifts, sometime I start at 7:00am sometimes 8:00am sometimes 9:30am

Get on QEW from either hwy 10 or Mississauga rd (sometimes take lakeshore road the whole way.
I used to always get off at Lakeshore exit, recently getting past Bathurst is hell, best to stay on QEW till my york/yonge exit...

7:00 (leave at 6:30-6:40 and get to work on time
8:00 ( leave around 7:20-15)
9:30 (usually take Lakeshore or take, QEW to lakeshore exit.

Getting to work is easy(not really), getting home is the tricky part....

There is no easy way. :(

Lakeshore is slow
QEW is slow
I sometimes take the brownsline exit to lakeshore... slow because of construction
or take the sherway exit, ride along queens way, but that sucks as well...

TLDR: get to to sitting in traffic, no easy out, don't install low clip-ons.

There is always the shoulder.... :rolleyes:
 
OnAnySunday said:
I sometimes take the brownsline exit to lakeshore... slow because of construction
or take the sherway exit, ride along queens way, but that sucks as well...

TLDR: get to to sitting in traffic, no easy out, don't install low clip-ons.

There is always the shoulder.... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I leave from Browns Line, usually around 8. Every couple of minutes earlier makes a huge difference. One thing I've found over almost 25 years of going downtown, is that unless there is an actual blockage on the Gardiner somewhere, it will still be faster from the Browns line to Park Lawn stretch to stay on the Gardiner instead of Lakeshore - it's just too far out of the way, and there are too many lights to get there, and too many lights along there. Queensway similar, but not as bad. Getting off at Browns Line/Evans and taking Evans isn't as bad, but you're really only saving the time to Islington, because you can't easily get back on after that. Means another several intersections and turns to Lakeshore or Queensway.
One of the tremendous benefits of the Evans to Royal York, through the residential neighbourhood and down to Lakeshore route is that It's More interesting and you're moving and stopping for red lights - not creeping and stopping in a straight line.
The other thing to remember, which is something I still kick myself for occasionally, is to not get fooled into thinking it will be faster because it looks faster - if the Gardiner is blocked, everything else will be busy. It's better than sitting on the highway, but if you're in a hurry you're better to stay on the Gardiner. When it's cleared, it will pick up (the big problem here is that if it's going to be a long clean up or investigation, you don't know that.

Of course, none of this matters if you end up riding on the shoulder....
 
Thanks for the all the suggestions. Much appreciated!

I did make it and I left at 8:20 and was at work at 9:10. I took Spadina exit. Over all not too bad as I stayed in the most right lane most of the time with a blocking position so cagers didnt really bug me.
 
Emefef said:
I leave from Browns Line, usually around 8. Every couple of minutes earlier makes a huge difference. One thing I've found over almost 25 years of going downtown, is that unless there is an actual blockage on the Gardiner somewhere, it will still be faster from the Browns line to Park Lawn stretch to stay on the Gardiner instead of Lakeshore - it's just too far out of the way, and there are too many lights to get there, and too many lights along there. Queensway similar, but not as bad. Getting off at Browns Line/Evans and taking Evans isn't as bad, but you're really only saving the time to Islington, because you can't easily get back on after that. Means another several intersections and turns to Lakeshore or Queensway.
One of the tremendous benefits of the Evans to Royal York, through the residential neighbourhood and down to Lakeshore route is that It's More interesting and you're moving and stopping for red lights - not creeping and stopping in a straight line.
The other thing to remember, which is something I still kick myself for occasionally, is to not get fooled into thinking it will be faster because it looks faster - if the Gardiner is blocked, everything else will be busy. It's better than sitting on the highway, but if you're in a hurry you're better to stay on the Gardiner. When it's cleared, it will pick up (the big problem here is that if it's going to be a long clean up or investigation, you don't know that.

Of course, none of this matters if you end up riding on the shoulder....
Click to expand...

++1
 
rfadister said:
Thanks for the all the suggestions. Much appreciated!

I did make it and I left at 8:20 and was at work at 9:10. I took Spadina exit. Over all not too bad as I stayed in the most right lane most of the time with a blocking position so cagers didnt really bug me.
Click to expand...

Another thing I don't understand, before Spadina exit, hwy is crawling, then (when the Gardiner lanes widen) it magically starts moving at 120km/h

There are no on-ramps there... why is does that happen?

I think that last turn under the bridge, people slow down a lot...
 
Morning commutes on a bike are not fun. if anything try to negotiate a later time to show up for work, that way you avoid the morning rush and evening rush and actually enjoy the ride, if your allowed that luxury. every artery leading into downtown is a bust before 9:30am and is even worse after 4:30pm. soo many angry people leaving work. the roads downtown are horrid and sprinkled with too many stop lights, i never understood why people ride downtown :/
 
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OnAnySunday said:
Another thing I don't understand, before Spadina exit, hwy is crawling, then (when the Gardiner lanes widen) it magically starts moving at 120km/h

There are no on-ramps there... why is does that happen?

I think that last turn under the bridge, people slow down a lot...
Click to expand...

People get scared when they're too close to the car beside them. Their first reaction is to rest their foot on their brake even if they aren't applying it. The guy behind sees brakes lights, he actually brakes and voila. Traffic.

I've seen a guy in a lane with no one in front of him.. the car in the adjacent lane a little bit ahead puts his brakes on.. the guy in the open lane also puts his brakes on. Wtf right? There's no one in front of him.
 
jay-d said:
People get scared when they're too close to the car beside them. Their first reaction is to rest their foot on their brake even if they aren't applying it. The guy behind sees brakes lights, he actually brakes and voila. Traffic.

I've seen a guy in a lane with no one in front of him.. the car in the adjacent lane a little bit ahead puts his brakes on.. the guy in the open lane also puts his brakes on. Wtf right? There's no one in front of him.
Click to expand...

Taxis do this all the time regardless if someone is beside them...
 
rfadister said:
Thanks for the all the suggestions. Much appreciated!
Over all not too bad as I stayed in the most right lane most of the time with a blocking position so cagers didnt really bug me.
Click to expand...

I didn't mention that part, because I already thought I was being too specific - Other than the fact that you have to actively manage your space at all the entrance points, staying in the right lane works well. I can actually make it to the york/bay/yonge exit without putting a foot down. If you want to be a little more aggressive and hop back and forth, you could definitely shave some more time off, but I find it's normally a smooth ride if I simply adjust my position back and forth in the right lane. After Jameson when the speed picks up for the last couple of km, that's when I'll pick a faster lane and enjoy the very brief higher speed ride.
 
OnAnySunday said:
I take this route every morning. I work shifts, sometime I start at 7:00am sometimes 8:00am sometimes 9:30am

Get on QEW from either hwy 10 or Mississauga rd (sometimes take lakeshore road the whole way.
I used to always get off at Lakeshore exit, recently getting past Bathurst is hell, best to stay on QEW till my york/yonge exit...
Click to expand...

You're just about the exact same route as me (though I've been lazy and driving the cage in mostly..but not this morning..yay)

I generally find that Gardiner is always the fastest route on average. Lakeshore is always a bit of an illusion though sometimes it can be the better route, but I HATE taking it from Browns Line westbound as I just find the street car tracks, bad roads are too much of a hazzard (not to mention all the idiots who treat the turn from Browns line to Lakeshore as a 2 car turn). When I do take Gardiner, I always try to get in the left most lane and just stay with it. It will speed up most days from Hurontario until where QEW and 427 merge..then it's just a crapshow til after dufferin. But some mornings, it's ok, and then there's those morning when the "clouds part" just after duffering so you get one nice lil sprint before exiting.

All in all, still the best way to commute!
 
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