Accremonious
09-03-2007, 05:54 PM
Partial quote from our Home Page Item:
There are 23 highway service centers located in Southern Ontario, on land owned by the government. They are currently leased and operated by one of three fuel companies: Shell, Imperial Oil or Petro Canada. The majority of the long-term leases are about to expire. The province is looking for a single operator who will renew the sites and offer quality services to the traveling public.
Ontario will require truckstop operators to redevelop
facilities and add rest capacity for truckers. Any operator leasing the facilities will be required to incorporate road safety initiatives, which could include additional space and services to provide rest opportunities for truckers.
"Ontario's highway service centers are important to travelers as they provide a safe place to rest, eat, and re-fuel," said Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield. "We want to provide the public with modern service centers that provide better and innovative services." Unquote.
I made the following calculations for Ontario's 400 series highways:
Hyw400 from Black Creek Drive to about Noble (218.8Km) =135.0 miles
401 from Windsor to Quebec line (827Km) =513.5
402 from Sarnia to London junc with Hwy401(102Km) = 63.3
403 from Woodstock junc 401 to Burlington junc QEW = 64.5
403 from Oakville QEW to Mississauga @ 401 junc = 26.3
404 from Gardiner Xway to NewMarket @Davis Dr. = 33.7
405 from QEW to Queenston/Lewiston Bridge = 5.4
406 from QEW to Hwy 58 near Niagara Falls = 12.8
407(Toll road) from QEW to Markham Rd. (approx.) = 65.0
409 from 401 to Pearson Int'nl Airport = 3.6
410 from 403 end to Beauvaird Dr, Brampton = 9.5
416 from 401 near Brockville to 417 @ Ottawa = 48.4
417 from near Packenham to Quebec line =102.7
(411)from North Himsworth to North Bay @ hwy17(417) = 10.5
(417) Hwy 17 @ Lively (Sudbury) to Whitefish = 10.5
Total: [approx.] (1790.7Km) =1104.7miles
Now for comparison in the USA on Interstate freeways there are rest area plazas approx. every 30 to 45 miles in each direction depending on which state and the population densities. If you extrapolate this using 2 for every fifty miles to be generous but ignoring the numerous local short stretches that are under 50 miles and the ignored section at Thunder Bay for which I have no reference (my version of Streets and Trips is 2005) we should have 1100-: by 50 x 2 = 44 service plazas! The politicians of ALL stripes who have been in power have short changed us the motoring public by about 50%. Now they are proposing to let the leases to a monopoly rather than a competative free market. Who will this single operator be? While Host Marriott does a good job along the American toll roads, how would they be able to perform in our political environment if they were the winning bid?
What about the future? Will the fueling company winner honor other company fuel credit cards? Not likely, and are there going to be any new sites developed? How many new plazas have been since hwy 401 was finished 3 decades ago? And what is the total population increase in this period of time?
It should be noted that other than 400, and 401 there are NO PLAZAS ON 402, 403, 407, 417, & QEW. There are 2 new private off the exits service plazas on QEW and 403 but the E/B 401 @ Streetsville plaza has been closed and dismantled, for a net gain of one private plaza.
Furthermore, they bemoan the reckless driving of Ontario drivers but refuse to admit that this violation of our rights to Public Sector park, piss and pedal facilities is just another slap in our faces!
Then the Highways Minister loudly proclaims that if re-elected they will implement speed limiters on all commercial large trucks. SINCE MOST OF THE MAJOR CARRIERS BASED IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO ALREADY HAVE THIS IN EFFECT FOR INSURANCE AND ECONOMIC REASONS IT IS A NON ISSUE PLUS JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS IN THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN JUST NOW STARTING.
What would be a significant safety move to reduce accidents and bring sanity to Southern Ontario traffic would be speed limiting governors on ALL CARS set at say 5Km above trucks ie.110Km. THIS WOULD SAVE MANY LIVES AND BRING DOWN INSURANCES COSTS!
We elected these clowns to govern, not pussy foot around using public opinion polls amongst the ill informed and highly biased vocal cry babies. They had their chance, now it is time to select a whole new set of public representatives who might just look into the real causes of traffic congestion and ill mannered drivers! Our infrastructure has been under funded and under developed for several decades by self serving and narrow minded, biased ill informed under achievers! It is time for a fresh new start!
There are 23 highway service centers located in Southern Ontario, on land owned by the government. They are currently leased and operated by one of three fuel companies: Shell, Imperial Oil or Petro Canada. The majority of the long-term leases are about to expire. The province is looking for a single operator who will renew the sites and offer quality services to the traveling public.
Ontario will require truckstop operators to redevelop
facilities and add rest capacity for truckers. Any operator leasing the facilities will be required to incorporate road safety initiatives, which could include additional space and services to provide rest opportunities for truckers.
"Ontario's highway service centers are important to travelers as they provide a safe place to rest, eat, and re-fuel," said Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield. "We want to provide the public with modern service centers that provide better and innovative services." Unquote.
I made the following calculations for Ontario's 400 series highways:
Hyw400 from Black Creek Drive to about Noble (218.8Km) =135.0 miles
401 from Windsor to Quebec line (827Km) =513.5
402 from Sarnia to London junc with Hwy401(102Km) = 63.3
403 from Woodstock junc 401 to Burlington junc QEW = 64.5
403 from Oakville QEW to Mississauga @ 401 junc = 26.3
404 from Gardiner Xway to NewMarket @Davis Dr. = 33.7
405 from QEW to Queenston/Lewiston Bridge = 5.4
406 from QEW to Hwy 58 near Niagara Falls = 12.8
407(Toll road) from QEW to Markham Rd. (approx.) = 65.0
409 from 401 to Pearson Int'nl Airport = 3.6
410 from 403 end to Beauvaird Dr, Brampton = 9.5
416 from 401 near Brockville to 417 @ Ottawa = 48.4
417 from near Packenham to Quebec line =102.7
(411)from North Himsworth to North Bay @ hwy17(417) = 10.5
(417) Hwy 17 @ Lively (Sudbury) to Whitefish = 10.5
Total: [approx.] (1790.7Km) =1104.7miles
Now for comparison in the USA on Interstate freeways there are rest area plazas approx. every 30 to 45 miles in each direction depending on which state and the population densities. If you extrapolate this using 2 for every fifty miles to be generous but ignoring the numerous local short stretches that are under 50 miles and the ignored section at Thunder Bay for which I have no reference (my version of Streets and Trips is 2005) we should have 1100-: by 50 x 2 = 44 service plazas! The politicians of ALL stripes who have been in power have short changed us the motoring public by about 50%. Now they are proposing to let the leases to a monopoly rather than a competative free market. Who will this single operator be? While Host Marriott does a good job along the American toll roads, how would they be able to perform in our political environment if they were the winning bid?
What about the future? Will the fueling company winner honor other company fuel credit cards? Not likely, and are there going to be any new sites developed? How many new plazas have been since hwy 401 was finished 3 decades ago? And what is the total population increase in this period of time?
It should be noted that other than 400, and 401 there are NO PLAZAS ON 402, 403, 407, 417, & QEW. There are 2 new private off the exits service plazas on QEW and 403 but the E/B 401 @ Streetsville plaza has been closed and dismantled, for a net gain of one private plaza.
Furthermore, they bemoan the reckless driving of Ontario drivers but refuse to admit that this violation of our rights to Public Sector park, piss and pedal facilities is just another slap in our faces!
Then the Highways Minister loudly proclaims that if re-elected they will implement speed limiters on all commercial large trucks. SINCE MOST OF THE MAJOR CARRIERS BASED IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO ALREADY HAVE THIS IN EFFECT FOR INSURANCE AND ECONOMIC REASONS IT IS A NON ISSUE PLUS JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS IN THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN JUST NOW STARTING.
What would be a significant safety move to reduce accidents and bring sanity to Southern Ontario traffic would be speed limiting governors on ALL CARS set at say 5Km above trucks ie.110Km. THIS WOULD SAVE MANY LIVES AND BRING DOWN INSURANCES COSTS!
We elected these clowns to govern, not pussy foot around using public opinion polls amongst the ill informed and highly biased vocal cry babies. They had their chance, now it is time to select a whole new set of public representatives who might just look into the real causes of traffic congestion and ill mannered drivers! Our infrastructure has been under funded and under developed for several decades by self serving and narrow minded, biased ill informed under achievers! It is time for a fresh new start!