London Roads

[M II A II R II K]

A thread to discuss road developments and issues.

[SlickFranky]

How about | Transportation rather than roads

[M II A II R II K]

It is posted, if London gets a local these London threads will be moved into it.

[ssiguy]

London Roads?.......................I never knew London had any roads or atleast not the type wider than one lane in each direction.

Seriously, London has to be one of the worse cities to get around day or night, certainly it's the worse in Ontario. Atleast in other Ontario cities if the traffic is moving but even later at night becaause thjere are lights every other block and the roads never connect and there is no way to get downtown on one road from different parts of the city. All roads that go downtown end there.

[MolsonExport]

the roads most often do not connect. Heck, you've got Highbury in the east and Wonderland in the West...as the only two North-South roads that completely cross the city! Same thing East west: Only Oxford and Fanshawe park road do this. Incredible, for a city of 353,000. The ditch that is the Thames is no excuse.

[ldoto]

I was wondering then London will get a highway ring road !!!!!!

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by ldoto

I was wondering then London will get a highway ring road !!!!!!

Is it really necessary though? How much development is planned on the northern and eastern sides of London? I agree a new connection from Fanshawe Park to Airport Road is necessary, but a full freeway? Also where would the northern section go?

Through traffic is well served by Highways 401 and 402, and there isn't a lot of north-south through traffic.

[manny_santos]

London traffic congestion is reaching alarming levels, and it's getting worse by the month. Last week I was on Oxford in the late afternoon which I hadn't been in some time, and the lineup heading westbound was lined up bumper-to-bumper all the way from Wonderland to the top of the hill just west of Cherryhill Blvd. I was heading eastbound and there was no accident or construction, just volume. Used to be the lineup only went as far as Proudfoot.

Granted, I know problems there include the short green light on Oxford at Wonderland, and that a massive number of people turn left at Wonderland. Still, that road has not changed since 1966 when it was widened to its current configuration, in a time when there was far less development in the west end. It's long overdue to widen to six lanes.

Or, we can widen Riverside to four lanes, and extend Sarnia Road to Huron Street.

[ldoto]

YES it is really necessary!!!!!!!

[FazDeH]

^^^ You guys think Oxford is bad right now? there will be construction until the end of October from Cherryhill to Richmond starting today. Can't wait until the construction gets to Wharncliffe and Oxford, that intersection already takes 10 minutes to get through at rush hour, with reduced lanes.... FML

[ldoto]

Yes you are right!!!!!

Anyone used to travelling down Oxford Street will face slowdowns and increased rush hour wait time beginning today.

Roadwork on the major artery will affect traffic for several months, as two phases of necessary infrastructure projects are completed.

Phase one is focused on major underground infrastructure between Platts Lane and Lane Street. Phase two, which begins at the same time but will take longer to complete, is targeted on repairs and an overhaul of the Norman A. Bradford bridge spanning the Thames River between Lane Street and Richmond Street.

Both phases will require Oxford Street to be reduced to one lane in each direction, and motorists are advised to seek alternate routes to avoid slowdowns, especially during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

"The infrastructure work, although sure to be a great inconvenience to drivers, is absolutely necessary and unavoidable," says Dave Leckie, Director of Roads and Transportation. "The reality is Oxford Street needs work, and we are doing our very best to ensure the least disruption possible to traffic flow in the area."

The Oxford Street rehabilitation is one of 100 road improvements being undertaken this year, as a result of increased provincial and federal funding for infrastructure projects.

[MolsonExport]

^sounds like a recipe for disaster. One of only 2 East-West thru streets down to one lane. Yeah. Seek alternate routes???? Brilliant.

[ldoto]

Thursday, April 23

THIS JUST IN: The intersection of Commissioners Road and Wharncliffe Road South will be the site of sewer repairs this Thursday, April 23. The repair work will begin at approximately 7:30 a.m. and continue all day. Both morning and afternoon rush-hour traffic will be affected, and traffic in all four directions will be reduced to one lane of travel. Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes to avoid the intersection or expect delays.

[manny_santos]

Adding to what I said before about London's growing traffic congestion crisis - today I drove south on Richmond from UWO to Oxford, and the northbound lineup waiting at Huron Street stretched almost all the way to Grosvenor, over halfway to Oxford. Once again, pure volume, no accident or anything. And again, in four years at Western, I've never seen it this bad.

London seriously has to get its a** moving on rapid transit, or London's future includes Richmond being lined up solidly from Sunningdale Road to Horton Street, and Oxford being lined up from Adelaide Street out to Komoka.

[MolsonExport]

one thing about London transit that pisses me off is buses blocking roads. You can't win. Get in the RH lane, and get stuck behind a crawling bus. Get in the LH lane, and-yup, you guessed it!-some dipshit needs to make a left-hand turn. Richmond, Wharncliffe are particularly bad on these points.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

one thing about London transit that pisses me off is buses blocking roads. You can't win. Get in the RH lane, and get stuck behind a crawling bus. Get in the LH lane, and-yup, you guessed it!-some dipshit needs to make a left-hand turn. Richmond, Wharncliffe are particularly bad on these points.

I experience precisely the same thing every friggin' morning when I drive to the office downtown. I used to take some back streets down to Springbank, only to find the left-hand turn lane for Wharncliffe was consistently totally jammed and took forever to clear.

Oddly enough, if I turn right onto Springbank from Wharncliffe and head west in the late afternoon, it's very fast with virtually no traffic at all.

So now I drive up Wharncliffe. On the (now increasingly rarer) days when traffic on Wharncliffe is light, I can get to work in about ten minutes. On days when traffic is heavy, try twenty plus. If it wasn't for the bottleneck just north of Horton which cuts Wharncliffe down to one lane heading northbound, the problems you describe simply wouldn't happen.

Then again, the bozos who seem to sleep when red lights turn green during morning rush hour don't help any.

It bothers me knowing city council is content with doing absolutely nothing to address the increasing problem of congestion. Guess a performing arts centre, suing the engineers who botched Springbank Dam, and the Sifton Bog deer cull debate are more important.

[SlickFranky]

That single northbound lane would be extremely expensive to expand. If you haven't noticed, the width is limited by a rail-line underpass. The bottleneck there is physical, and can't easily be corrected. Try taking Bruce over to Wortley, or Horton to Ridout...the nice thing about a grid pattern is there are always options.

[ldoto]

Wed, May 13, 2009

A debate that could save taxpayers $5 million a year for 20 years has begun at city hall with the Urban League of London backing a recommendation by city brass to shift the costs of new roads from taxpayers to developers.

"It's not chump change," the Urban League's Sandy Levin told city politicians in a gallery packed with members of the development and construction industry.

Along with other proposed changes, the shift in road costs would increase 
the development charge paid by each builder for each new home from $17,005 
to $22,921.


While the London Home Builders Association has asked city hall to phase in
 the increase, city staff recommend doing it all at once when new charges 
take force Aug. 4.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by ldoto

Wed, May 13, 2009

A debate that could save taxpayers $5 million a year for 20 years has begun at city hall with the Urban League of London backing a recommendation by city brass to shift the costs of new roads from taxpayers to developers.

"It's not chump change," the Urban League's Sandy Levin told city politicians in a gallery packed with members of the development and construction industry.

Along with other proposed changes, the shift in road costs would increase 
the development charge paid by each builder for each new home from $17,005 
to $22,921.


While the London Home Builders Association has asked city hall to phase in
 the increase, city staff recommend doing it all at once when new charges 
take force Aug. 4.

Good idea in principle, although developers will simply pass on the cost to their customers. One way or another, you'll pay for those roads - either by increased taxes or through the price of a new home or condo.

On the other hand, developers should be treated like every other taxpayer. When was the last time you saw a hike in municipal rates gradually phased in?

[ldoto]

Mon, May 25, 2009

Road closings

Bradley Avenue from Jackson Road to city limits: Water main, road.

King Street from Adelaide Street to Hewitt Street: road

King Street from Hewitt Street to Rectory Street: Water main, sewers, road

Mamelon Street from Hamilton Road to Nelson Street: Water main, sewers, road




Mornington Avenue from Quebec Street to Oxford Street: Water main, sewers, road

Ridout Street from Windsor Avenue to Belhaven Road: Water main, sewers, road