Not again!

manny_santos · #1 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 2:10 AM**

Not this again...

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2.../18272761.html

Yes, we have another sinkhole closing a major road. I travel through there by bus to meet my carpool partner to travel to our business calls outside London during the week. Guess I have to leave earlier tomorrow.

Whisper09 · #2 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 2:14 AM**

Wow, we posted this at the same time. Ha!

I have always wanted to see one start while walking or driving down the road (not on it of course).

Simpseatles · #3 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 2:26 AM**

"It happened Again!"

http://www.homersimpsonwallpapers.co...head-wallpaper

Why though? Do other cities experience so many sink-hole related mishaps?

Pimpmasterdac · #4 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 2:44 AM**

Wow, just when you think travelling to the north end couldn't get anywhere...

Western Road down to a crawl, Horton 1 lane, Sarnia closed. Now Richmond closed and Oxford down to 2 lanes. Thank god I don't have to go to UWO anymore, commute would jump to a good 30+ minutes now.

I have a buddy who lives right next to the sinkhole, took a good aerial photo of it.

MrSlippery519 · #5 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 12:38 PM**

Wow now that is going to slow down traffic, seems like this is going to keep happening in the core...there has to be a reason?

MolsonExport · #6 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 1:13 PM**

A commuting disaster of epic proportions. Just the icing on an asinine road-construction-schedule cake.

So one of only two cross-roads (east-west) is knocked out for a period.

Here's why you need to link up some more roads as through roads...Gainsborough/Windermere, I am looking at you!

go_leafs_go02 · #7 Posted **Jun 13, 2011, 5:40 PM**

So how was traffic today?

manny_santos · #8 Posted **Jun 14, 2011, 2:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

So how was traffic today?

I went through there around 11 a.m., obviously after rush hour was done. No biggie.

Wharn · #9 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 12:27 AM**

Nice photo, pimp. Better than the one they have in the Free Press!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

So one of only two cross-roads (east-west) is knocked out for a period.

I would say that it is one of the 3 through roads, since for all intents and purposes Commissioners also crosses the entire city. Just that the section east of Jackson happens to be called "Hamilton Road", kinda like how Steeles Avenue continues east into Durham from Toronto but happens to be called "Taunton Road".

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Here's why you need to link up some more roads as through roads...Gainsborough/Windermere, I am looking at you!

The Oxford/Richmond closure is far more severe than the Dundas/Wellington closure, so I am actually hoping that it causes traffic problems serious enough to encourage the city to think about linking one of the middle concessions (Sarnia-Huron or Gainsborough-Windermere).

Pimpmasterdac · #10 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 4:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wharn

The Oxford/Richmond closure is far more severe than the Dundas/Wellington closure, so I am actually hoping that it causes traffic problems serious enough to encourage the city to think about linking one of the middle concessions (Sarnia-Huron or Gainsborough-Windermere).

My one buddy lives in the red apartments across from blockbuster, woke up Sunday and saw that as a picture, knew not to take Richmond for a while

Unfortunately while this is worse than the Dundas-Wellington sinkhole I don't see this changing anything about linking those concessions. Fontana was asked whether it was a good idea cutting the increase in water & sewer rates after this latest sinkhole and he didn't regret it at all. With a tighter and tighter squeeze at City Hall and already behind scheduled widenings/repairs, I don't see them being able to link those roads. Hell Western Road is still 2 lanes by the CP Rail, and will be until at least 2020!

London just seems to think in such a short term mentality, its too bad.

haljackey · #11 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 4:37 AM**

Good infrastructure, good economy.

vid · #12 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 5:23 AM**

A sink hole like that appeared a block away from me one day a few years ago, but they're both side streets so it wasn't a problem. It started sinking again recently.

At least that isn't a poor neighbourhood. Our sinkhole wasn't repaved until the next year. All winter, a quarter of that intersection was packed dirt.

MolsonExport · #13 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 1:34 PM**

I never gave much thought to a Sarnia-Huron link up...but this might make more sense. After all, it would go right through UWO (the economic pillar of northwestern London), and would not involve destroying as much natural area (Gainsborough/Medway creek, etc.). Huron is a major link in the eastern portion of the city. Sounds good. Anybody feel like doing a rendering? Any studies on this?

manny_santos · #14 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 2:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I never gave much thought to a Sarnia-Huron link up...but this might make more sense. After all, it would go right through UWO (the economic pillar of northwestern London), and would not involve destroying as much natural area (Gainsborough/Medway creek, etc.). Huron is a major link in the eastern portion of the city. Sounds good. Anybody feel like doing a rendering? Any studies on this?

The issue with Sarnia/Huron goes beyond building a bridge across the Thames River - east of Richmond there is a discontinuity in Huron Street as it was not built through an Environmentally Significant Area. However there is cleared right-of-way for power lines running through that area, so it is possible.

I've thought about this issue before and an idea I've thought of is swinging an extension south to run along Regent Street, swinging back north just before Adelaide. An advantage of this would be that Regent has more right-of-way for widening than Huron does west of Adelaide. A disadvantage would be that several dwellings would have to be demolished.

bolognium · #15 Posted **Jun 15, 2011, 7:31 PM**

I guess I just assumed a Huron/Sarnia bridge was never going to happen because of Old North. I figured those rich farts would rather die than have a through street bisect their neighbourhood.

Wharn · #16 Posted **Jun 16, 2011, 2:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I never gave much thought to a Sarnia-Huron link up...but this might make more sense. After all, it would go right through UWO

I think that may not actually be a good thing at all. UWO doesn't necessarily have a hostile stance towards vehicles, but they certainly want to give pedestrians and cyclists priority on campus, and I doubt the University would react well to another through street that attracts more dangerous through traffic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny_santos

The issue with Sarnia/Huron goes beyond building a bridge across the Thames River - east of Richmond there is a discontinuity in Huron Street as it was not built through an Environmentally Significant Area. However there is cleared right-of-way for power lines running through that area, so it is possible.

I think it had more to do with the ravine being in the way of the concession than the ravine being environmentally significant. The British did this sort of stuff all the time, and not just in London; that grid pattern musn't be tampered with!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolognium

I guess I just assumed a Huron/Sarnia bridge was never going to happen because of Old North. I figured those rich farts would rather die than have a through street bisect their neighbourhood.

Most of the people who live in those houses along Huron are students anyways. Regardless, Toronto has many upper-middle class neighbourhoods that thrive along collector roads. Military Trail, Cummer Avenue, Broadway Avenue and Prince Edward Drive are a few that come to mind off the top of my head. A similar collector road in London really should not be an issue. The city just needs to grow a pair and tell people "Sucks to be you, but we're linking these roads".

MolsonExport · #17 Posted **Jun 23, 2011, 12:59 PM**

Any update on our latest hole to china?

manny_santos · #18 Posted **Jun 23, 2011, 1:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Any update on our latest hole to china?

It's fixed. Who knows when there will be another one though.

ForestryW · #19 Posted **Jun 23, 2011, 3:00 PM**

I was in London last weekend and walked by it. Pretty impressive how fast and how well they fixed it. I wouldn`t have even known had I not been following SSP.