Your city in rush hour

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Disgusting


(http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1145/5...193519c7_b.jpg)

That's terrifying. Cool picture, though.

[Daveography]

Originally Posted by 240glt

There are a few parts of Edmonton that get very congested during rush hour, but it's fairly localized to certain roads.

Overall, this city does not have a traffic problem. We do have a huge problem with terrible, terrible drivers though.

Our commute from our nice mature 'burb to downtown takes all of 10 minutes in rush hour, from driveway to parkade. It's almost ridiculously easy.

I've always found you can tell someone who has never left Edmonton once in their entire lives when they complain about traffic problems here.

[Nashe]

It might be kind of laughable, but now that I think of it, my town of Shediac (pop: 6000) in the summertime is much worse than Moncton/Dieppe (140k) due to the layout. One main street a-la North Conway, NH in the 80's.

The difference is that the people jamming Main in Shediac don't really have a destination; they're just driving around in the sun.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

It might be kind of laughable, but now that I think of it, my town of Shediac (pop: 6000) in the summertime is much worse than Moncton/Dieppe (140k) due to the layout. One main street a-la North Conway, NH in the 80's.

The difference is that the people jamming Main in Shediac don't really have a destination; they're just driving around in the sun.

It's true, though. Small towns can be brutal. The overall time spent in your car is miniscule compared to larger centres, but the difference between that amount of time during rush/non-rush can be significant percentage wise.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

It's true, though. Small towns can be brutal. The overall time spent in your car is miniscule compared to larger centres, but the difference between that amount of time during rush/non-rush can be significant percentage wise.

It's a beach-town too, so it basically doubles in population in the summer. I've seen Ferrari's and even a Lamborghini here, sitting in the traffic. Don't get me started on the bikers.

[J.OT13]

Ottawa traffic.



Rideau Street







Gotta love those articulated buses in winter;


http://jgarlough.ca/2005/12/win-turn-won-darn-land/

From CTV news, bus lineup;



More bus lineups;





From CTV again, bus pileup;

[IMG]http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs...cape_960/image.[/IMG]

[middeljohn]

About a year ago I went to Ottawa to visit my brother and got on the 417 right around 4:30. I was surprised how jammed the Queensway was. It literally took me 30 minutes to go 5km that day. I don't know if that's normal or if there was an accident further down, but I was surprised to see Toronto level congestion there.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Haha, London has one too, AM 980 I think (shows you how "needed" it is that an urban geography junkie like me isn't sure of the frequency). I remember discovering it and thinking "awe how cute, they're trying to be like Toronto".

I think it's most useful in the winter, when certain roads and highways in the rural areas surrounding London tend to be closed. It is a little excessive, though AM980 isn't just a traffic station, it has news and talk programs.

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

In Kingston, going from point A to point B never takes you more than 20 minutes in the off-peak barring accidents and the like. Rush hour is very tame, on most routes you'll see no more than a few minutes added to the trip. The exception is when attempting to cross the Lasalle Causeway between downtown & the east end--that can get quite gridlocked at peak periods.

I have several co-workers that commute into downtown Kingston from the east end. One of them takes 20 minutes just to drive from just east of the base to downtown (which takes 4-5 minutes at other times), though she says the biggest problem is traffic light timing. She says that Kingston drivers are notoriously slow compared to other cities she's lived in, especially in even slightly inclement weather, and I agree entirely with her. Traffic light timings in Kingston are generally very poor; Kingston's existing traffic issues, which aren't that many other than Highway 2 east of the Causeway, could be largely fixed through traffic light synchronization. Not sure how to address the slow drivers issue.

[Denscity]

We actually do have a rush hour here. Cars start to roll around 4:15 am and are heavy between 630-9am. We only have 1 true end to end street so it all gets funnelled down our main street which is 10kms long. Our main street is busy 12 hours a day and active around 21 hours a day.

[Innsertnamehere]

Toronto this morning:



Driving the 401 in free flow traffic can very much be very terrifying. The speed differentials can be huge, many people don't do over 80km/h but 3 lanes over and you have people doing 120km/h. horrible merging, the left hand access points to the express lanes create problems, etc. The highway being lined with highrises for a large portion of the trip makes it distracting as well .

[Trevor3]

Stephenville has a small rush hour as well, it actually results in a complete shutdown of Main Street in the morning once the Tim Horton's drive-thru line-up backs up and stretches out into the street. I wish I were joking but it's actually an issue that RCMP and town have spent years trying to resolve. Unfortunately they can't figure out how to reconfigure the parking lot to accomodate the demand, and every summer it gets worse. It has resulted in news coverage by 4-5 different media outlets across the province and even a petition to have the Tim's moved to another part of town (not sure how that was supposed to work). The Chamber of Commerce became concerned after coming across some travel blogs posted by would-be tourists who wandered into town, were confronted with an awful traffic snarl, and left.

Fortunately for commuters, if you're in a hurry you can simply bypass the downtown and take the Hansen Highway or West Street and one of Massachusetts or Minnesota Drive to get west-east.

If you wander into town as a tourist, I offer my sincerest apologies for my town's rabid Tim's addiction. Sorry. If you've ever wanted to see a town of >7000 with a traffic jam everyday at 8, come on over.

Otherwise, Main Street is constantly busy during the day and speeds are around 20km/h or less. Pedestrians have a habit of just walking off the sidewalk to cross the street whenever they feel like it, myself included, so you have to be mindful of that. It's completely flat so walking is easy and there is plenty of foot traffic.

[Denscity]

Haha our Tims also causes traffic issues including rear enders as cars are lined up right into traffic. And its parking lot is too small for how busy it is. I recommend a second location downtown. *thumbs up*

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Haha our Tims also causes traffic issues including rear enders as cars are lined up right into traffic. And its parking lot is too small for how busy it is. I recommend a second location downtown. *thumbs up*

Argh Tim Horton traffic jams. I love how people will completely tie up one whole lane for 10-12 car lengths just to pull in and get into the drive thru. It must be a sad life to justify backing up traffic and sitting in your car for 15 minutes to get crap coffee over just parking, walking 30 feet, and waiting 4-5 minutes for your order.

---

Anyway, my old evening commute was probably only 2km, from the parking lot at MUN down the Prince Phillip Parkway, and turning off on to Wicklow Street. That's only 3 sets of lights. During low-traffic hours this is about a 2-3 minute commute. With moderate traffic it's about 5-6 minutes. And usually around 5pm every evening someone will find a way to rear end or t-bone someone else turning the parkway into a parking lot. Speeds can get down to 20-30 km/h and depending on how bad it is the travel time can be 10-15 minutes.

Which in perspective with the rest of the world is still pretty good

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Argh Tim Horton traffic jams. I love how people will completely tie up one whole lane for 10-12 car lengths just to pull in and get into the drive thru. It must be a sad life to justify backing up traffic and sitting in your car for 15 minutes to get crap coffee over just parking, walking 30 feet, and waiting 4-5 minutes for your order.

--

People who do that should be ticketed.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

About a year ago I went to Ottawa to visit my brother and got on the 417 right around 4:30. I was surprised how jammed the Queensway was. It literally took me 30 minutes to go 5km that day. I don't know if that's normal or if there was an accident further down, but I was surprised to see Toronto level congestion there.

One thing about Ottawa and Gatineau too is that because of the huge public service rush hour tends to start and end earlier than most other cities. A lot of people work 7-3 or 7:30-3:30 in this region.

7:00 am is probably the worst of the AM rush because of all of the people who start at 7:30 or 8.

And although Ottawa lingers a bit longer, in Gatineau by 8:30 rush hour is a done deal 95% of the time, unless there is a snowstorm or a big accident.

It's also generally over at 5:30 in the afternoon.

What I have said here is less the case now in Ottawa as the city grows and rush hour expands, but it's still the main variable that affects traffic, and is even more visible in Gatineau.

[Klazu]

Those Toronto photos are crazy. That city needs badly more public transportation.

Vancouver also has a very busy rush hour with almost all bridges and tunnels experiencing congestion every day. Lions Gate Bridge (3 lanes), George Massey Tunnel (4 lanes) and Alex Fraser Bridge (6 lanes, below) might be the worst ones.



I am happy not to be part of the rush hour traffic mayhem as I walk between home and work. At home I sometimes feel pity for those that need to line up in their cars down below to escape Downtown for yet another night...

[ssiguy]

For it's size, nothing can even compare to London.

[sparky212]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

For it's size, nothing can even compare to London.

I was raised in London but was posted to Victoria last year and I find it is worse here. Like the way this city is laid out is retarded, a drive from the base to the highway is normally a five or ten minute drive but in the evening rush I've had it take an hour and to get to Langford is another story all together. A city this size should not have the traffic problems it has.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Acajack

One thing about Ottawa and Gatineau too is that because of the huge public service rush hour tends to start and end earlier than most other cities. A lot of people work 7-3 or 7:30-3:30 in this region.

7:00 am is probably the worst of the AM rush because of all of the people who start at 7:30 or 8.

And although Ottawa lingers a bit longer, in Gatineau by 8:30 rush hour is a done deal 95% of the time, unless there is a snowstorm or a big accident.

It's also generally over at 5:30 in the afternoon.

What I have said here is less the case now in Ottawa as the city grows and rush hour expands, but it's still the main variable that affects traffic, and is even more visible in Gatineau.

That's one of Ottawa's main traits that really stands out--how early the city is. People go to work early, go out for supper early, go to bed early. 9-5 is actually a very late work shift by Ottawa standards.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I have several co-workers that commute into downtown Kingston from the east end. One of them takes 20 minutes just to drive from just east of the base to downtown (which takes 4-5 minutes at other times), though she says the biggest problem is traffic light timing. She says that Kingston drivers are notoriously slow compared to other cities she's lived in, especially in even slightly inclement weather, and I agree entirely with her. Traffic light timings in Kingston are generally very poor; Kingston's existing traffic issues, which aren't that many other than Highway 2 east of the Causeway, could be largely fixed through traffic light synchronization. Not sure how to address the slow drivers issue.

Traffic light timing in Kingston is designed to allow for near-perfect travel for people heading in peak directions at exactly 50km/h. Of course, that means that anybody travelling in counter-peak directions, less than 45, or more than 55--aka EVERYBODY--gets all the reds.

The exception is Brock & Johnson, a pair of one ways connecting downtown with the western suburbs. They have near-perfect traffic light timing--I've driven up & down them many times and almost every time I get constant non-stop green light after green light.

There's also lots of roads in Kingston with long stretches of no traffic lights that generally flow very well even in the peak--Sir John A MacDonald, Portsmouth, Centennial, Montreal, Bayridge are examples.