Agreed. Expanding Ottawa's highways can do many things, but reducing rush hour travel times simply is not one of them. Anything that reduces rush hour travel times will necessarily attract more use. It's intuitive; if something's easier, of course you should expect more people to do it.
If we want to truly make a bypass instead of just another clogged road, then it has to be so far from the city that it's impractical for commuting purposes. I'm talking Renfrew to Kemptville to Casselman. I remain to be convinced that there are enough people who actually need this sort of connection. I can only imagine truckers coming down Highway 17 who pass through Ottawa between the hours of 7-9am and 4-6pm who want to avoid rush hour traffic. Considering that this kind of road would have a cost in the billions, I'm just not sure it's worth it.
If our concern is that it takes too long to drive about Ottawa at rush hour, then the only - and I mean
only - solution that has worked anywhere at any time is decongestion pricing. I hate to be so categorical - it makes for poor discussion - but the sheer burden of evidence from decades of experience in hundreds of cities warrants it.
Put up a cordon around the congested downtown and charge people up to $3-4 (the price of a bus ticket) to enter at the height of rush hour. It can be free between peaks and on weekends, as it is in Stockholm. When that city started a pricing trial, 25% of rush hour car trips simply vanished, as did the traffic jams. The money from the tolls went towards improving the roads and transit, which further helped to reduce commute times.
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