Category Archives for "Highways and Bridges"

Mar 30

Use of Highway 407ETR as a Truck Alternative to Proposed Highway 413 – Media Interviews

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Latest News

The GTA West transportation corridor, now officially known as Highway 413, continues to generate intense interest among local citizens, elected officials and media. Transport Action Ontario (TAO) is a core member of an alliance called “Stop the 413 Now” that actively opposes this project.

As described in our report “Is Building Highway 413 the Best Option” (see posting on this website August 20, 2020), people moving is more cost effectively achieved with rapid transit, which can move 4 times as many people per hour as the Highway, for the same capital cost.

For the important sector of goods movement by truck, there is increasing interest in the use of a truck toll discount on Highway 407. This was first analyzed by TAO in 2021 (see posting April 6, 2021), which showed that providing a full truck toll discount on the 407 is less than half as costly as building and operating the 413. And this solution can be implemented almost immediately, versus expressway construction which could take 10 years.

There has been considerable media interest in this solution. TAO President Peter Miasek was featured in two recent interviews:

  • CBC Radio, March 26, 2022, with Mike Crawley, here
  • Newstalk 1010 Radio, March 28, 2022, with John Moore, here
Jan 17

2021 Penalty Relief for 407ETR and implications for proposed Highway 413

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Latest News

Transport Action Ontario has written a second letter to the Minister of Transportation indicating our concern about penalty relief for 407ETR. Our earlier letter (see posting of December 10, 2021 on this website) received a prompt reply from Ministry staff pointing us to the contract specifics and emphasizing that the 2020 penalty forgiveness was not a burden to Ontario taxpayers.

We found the Ministry letter to be unpersuasive and have written back urging:

  • Using a probable 2021 penalty relief request as leverage to negotiate toll discounts on 407ETR to boost traffic, especially for trucks
  • Using 407ETR and transit as an alternative to Highway 413.

Our letter can be viewed below:

Jan 03

Response to Mandate Letter to Minister Alghabra

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario , Urban Transit

Prime Minister Trudeau released his mandate letters to all cabinet ministers in mid December. Transport Action Ontario has written to Minister of Transport Alghabra providing several critical perspectives on the letter he received. They are

-Full due diligence needed

-Improve transparency/reliability/accountability/communication

-Execution skills and talent are a concern

-Rail offers domestic industrial benefits

-Must account for externalities

The letter can be viewed below.


Aug 20

Greater Golden Horseshoe Transportation Discussion Paper – Comments Submitted

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Urban Transit

In late June, Ontario released its long-awaited Greater Golden Horseshow Transportation Discussion Paper for public comment. Following a situation analysis, it described three visions for 2051: (a) getting people moving on a connected transit system (b) enhancing capacity and performance on congested roads (c) efficiently moving goods across the region. It also provided 7 near-term goals and sample actions.

Transport Action Ontario has provided detailed comments to the Ministry of Transportation on this paper, identifying positives, concern areas, and additional topics to include.

  • TAO supports some of the road infrastructure policies and plans, particularly managed lanes and demand management. However, we feel that there is too much emphasis on construction of new 400-series highways, including the GTA-West corridor, Highway 404 extension and Garden City Skyway twinning. Non-road options are usually a better investment and should either replace or augment new highways.
  • TAO supports the listed ideas for goods movement, but recommends also to work with CN/CP to expand rail corridors or remove constraints where needed to benefit both passenger and freight rail. The cooperation agreements between Metrolinx and CN on the shared-use Halton Sub and on Burlington-Hamilton are good examples.
  • The Plan needs to discuss funding sources to finance these many investments, including parking fees, road pricing, federal cooperation and financing, and providing new revenue tools for municipalities.

Our full submission can be viewed below.

MTO’s discussion paper can be found at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/towards-greater-golden-horseshoe-transportation-plan-discussion-paper

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