Waterloo Region Connected
Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - Printable Version

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RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - Spokes - 11-21-2018

(11-21-2018, 12:07 PM)clasher Wrote: Under-the-bridge segregated cycling lanes are awesome, I rode on the one over the Fraser River on the Canada Line bridge and it was neat to see how it's just some beams anchored to the side of the span. I think most bridges could have this added to them.

Am I understanding this correctly in that these were added well after the bridge was built right?


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - MidTowner - 11-21-2018

(11-21-2018, 09:31 AM)gomesjustin Wrote: Love the idea of Victoria receiving a road diet after all of this. Add some tree-lined streets, a few parks, some development and boom! No more urban blight -

This is the most appealing prospect coming out of the new Highway 7 for me, too. I don't relish more sprawl in and around Breslau, but less traffic on Victoria bolstering the case to turn it into a more urban street is a wonderful consolation prize.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - danbrotherston - 11-21-2018

(11-21-2018, 02:34 PM)MidTowner Wrote:
(11-21-2018, 09:31 AM)gomesjustin Wrote: Love the idea of Victoria receiving a road diet after all of this. Add some tree-lined streets, a few parks, some development and boom! No more urban blight -

This is the most appealing prospect coming out of the new Highway 7 for me, too. I don't relish more sprawl in and around Breslau, but less traffic on Victoria bolstering the case to turn it into a more urban street is a wonderful consolation prize.

Lol, I wouldn't hold your breath, the Regional transportation plan gives a road diet for Victoria St. only the same value as widening the Western portion to increase the level of traffic sewer.  Remember, regional transportation planning places no value on urban form or quality of place, they only care about transportation, and apparently widening is just as good as active transportation.  There's a good chance this road will never improve...although we might have another election before the plan actually comes up, so we'll see.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - clasher - 11-21-2018

(11-21-2018, 02:14 PM)Spokes Wrote:
(11-21-2018, 12:07 PM)clasher Wrote: Under-the-bridge segregated cycling lanes are awesome, I rode on the one over the Fraser River on the Canada Line bridge and it was neat to see how it's just some beams anchored to the side of the span. I think most bridges could have this added to them.

Am I understanding this correctly in that these were added well after the bridge was built right?

Yeah, I think it was about 5 years after the Canada Line opened... I think an advocacy group worked hard to convince translink that it was needed. I don't remember if it was during the pedestrian bridge construction or the main bridge but a crane operator died when his crane collapsed; there was a plaque for him I remember reading.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - ijmorlan - 11-21-2018

(11-21-2018, 08:36 AM)jamincan Wrote: The current plan for highway 6 is to by-pass Morriston to the west, but not to connect directly to the Hanlon. I think they will, however, have a continuous lane from 6S to 6N.

Depends what you mean by “directly”. If I’m reading the plan correctly, people travelling on 6 will technically be on the 401 for one interchange, but they will be in collectors that begin where the 6 joins the 401 and end where it leaves, and which flow directly to/from the 6. So if you allow the 6 to surround the 401 on either side and still be a “direct” connection, it will be a direct connection. The plan looks pretty good to me; it’s more or less what I would build if I was in charge. Of course it would be paid for entirely by road tolls in that case, but whatever.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - Pheidippides - 11-21-2018

I was always surprised they did not choose a more direct alignment mostly along concession road 7 to get rid of those really strange proposed interchanges and roundabouts near Morriston, and the proposed one at 6N.
   


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - KevinL - 11-22-2018

Your proposed line would put the 401 interchange directly on top of several water-filled quarries. Much trickier to build ramps upon...


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - jeffster - 11-22-2018

(11-20-2018, 10:36 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(11-20-2018, 06:13 PM)jeffster Wrote: I think it's a business decision on top of traffic issues; by having a freeway between Kitchener and Guelph, it moves commerce more quickly and is good for business. You can expect to see a lot of growth between Kitchener and Guelph, and I imagine by the time we're in an old age homes, the cities will be seen as one by outsiders.

As for the 401W-London/Highway 8, I imagine this will be done within the next 10-15 years.

While I think you're right, it's absurd, I thought we were past the days of spurring sprawling unsustainable development through highway building...

Bah, who am I kidding, I know we're not past it, but it still makes me sad....

I was thinking more of the line of business tho, not necessarily residential. I guess large businesses might also be considered sprawl, but to have accessible employment lands would be good, assuming the cities can all get along.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - MidTowner - 11-22-2018

(11-21-2018, 03:59 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(11-21-2018, 02:34 PM)MidTowner Wrote: This is the most appealing prospect coming out of the new Highway 7 for me, too. I don't relish more sprawl in and around Breslau, but less traffic on Victoria bolstering the case to turn it into a more urban street is a wonderful consolation prize.

Lol, I wouldn't hold your breath, the Regional transportation plan gives a road diet for Victoria St. only the same value as widening the Western portion to increase the level of traffic sewer.  Remember, regional transportation planning places no value on urban form or quality of place, they only care about transportation, and apparently widening is just as good as active transportation.  There's a good chance this road will never improve...although we might have another election before the plan actually comes up, so we'll see.

You're right, I definitely should have used more conditional language in my comment. But I am hopeful. There will be much less of a case for maintaining Victoria as a traffic sewer (apt phrasing you used) when the new Highway 7 is nearer completion.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - danbrotherston - 11-22-2018

(11-22-2018, 11:00 AM)MidTowner Wrote:
(11-21-2018, 03:59 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: Lol, I wouldn't hold your breath, the Regional transportation plan gives a road diet for Victoria St. only the same value as widening the Western portion to increase the level of traffic sewer.  Remember, regional transportation planning places no value on urban form or quality of place, they only care about transportation, and apparently widening is just as good as active transportation.  There's a good chance this road will never improve...although we might have another election before the plan actually comes up, so we'll see.

You're right, I definitely should have used more conditional language in my comment. But I am hopeful. There will be much less of a case for maintaining Victoria as a traffic sewer (apt phrasing you used) when the new Highway 7 is nearer completion.

Sadly, this regional transportation plan is the 10-20 year plan, and it considered the traffic reductions from new highway 7.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - KW65 - 11-22-2018

Looks like another delay in the works. https://www.therecord.com/news-story/9046662-new-highway-7-between-waterloo-region-and-guelph-delayed-again/


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - timio - 11-22-2018

One would have thought that highways would be immune to the great Dumpster Fire at Queen's Park, but it seems they are not.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - Pheidippides - 11-22-2018

Delayed just long enough to string it out to the next election as the perpetual carrot.

Or maybe just didn't have enough lanes for the government's liking. The new version will have 5 lanes each direction and paid for from the cap and trade fund because it is reducing congestion.


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - timc - 11-22-2018

Any chance this government will raise the spectre of a toll road again?


RE: Highway 7 - Kitchener to Guelph - Pheidippides - 11-22-2018

(11-22-2018, 12:20 AM)KevinL Wrote: Your proposed line would put the 401 interchange directly on top of several water-filled quarries. Much trickier to build ramps upon...

Without even any fancy flyovers you can get most of the ramps needed in that space and would be a lot less km of road building than what is proposed. The only one I couldn't figure out how to fit in without a fancy flyover or something was SB 6 to EB 401: