Tolls coming to HOV lanes, Wynne warns
The free high-occupancy lanes (HOV) now in use for the Pan Am Games on provincial highways will soon be offered at a cost to motorists who don’t have enough passengers, Premier Kathleen Wynne reminded motorists Wednesday.
While it’s too early to say which highways will get high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or when it will happen, Wynne said they are still in the works and will be an “important source of revenue” for helping to bankroll 10-year, $130-billion plan to improve public transit and reduce severe traffic congestion plaguing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
“Whether the configurations that have been put in place on provincial roads for the Pan Am Games are exactly what will transpire when we put in place the HOT lanes, that’s not our plan at this moment,” she told reporters after a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory.
“What’s important is that we take the lessons from the HOV lanes. I have heard people talking about how they've noticed behaviour changes and that's what putting in place HOV lanes is meant to do,” she added.
The lanes are now restricted to vehicles with at least three occupants, along with taxis and motocycles and buses. During the ParaPan Am Games, vehicles will have to have at least two occupants to avoid traffic fines from police.
The HOT lanes, in which motorists without the minimum number of passengers must pay to use, have been promised in the last two provincial budgets.
For his part, Tory seemed cool to the idea of HOT lanes on Toronto highways like the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.
“If there’s any frustration that I’ve heard, it’s that the HOV lanes during Pan Am have been underutilized…the lesson for us all now is to take lessons.”
Tory said he wants to see traffic statistics after the Pan Am and ParaPan games are over.
Ontario has 235 kilometers of HOV lanes for Pan Am, up from 85 km previously.
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/gta/2015/07/22/tolls-coming-to-hov-lanes-wynne-warns.html
The free high-occupancy lanes (HOV) now in use for the Pan Am Games on provincial highways will soon be offered at a cost to motorists who don’t have enough passengers, Premier Kathleen Wynne reminded motorists Wednesday.
While it’s too early to say which highways will get high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or when it will happen, Wynne said they are still in the works and will be an “important source of revenue” for helping to bankroll 10-year, $130-billion plan to improve public transit and reduce severe traffic congestion plaguing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
“Whether the configurations that have been put in place on provincial roads for the Pan Am Games are exactly what will transpire when we put in place the HOT lanes, that’s not our plan at this moment,” she told reporters after a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory.
“What’s important is that we take the lessons from the HOV lanes. I have heard people talking about how they've noticed behaviour changes and that's what putting in place HOV lanes is meant to do,” she added.
The lanes are now restricted to vehicles with at least three occupants, along with taxis and motocycles and buses. During the ParaPan Am Games, vehicles will have to have at least two occupants to avoid traffic fines from police.
The HOT lanes, in which motorists without the minimum number of passengers must pay to use, have been promised in the last two provincial budgets.
For his part, Tory seemed cool to the idea of HOT lanes on Toronto highways like the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.
“If there’s any frustration that I’ve heard, it’s that the HOV lanes during Pan Am have been underutilized…the lesson for us all now is to take lessons.”
Tory said he wants to see traffic statistics after the Pan Am and ParaPan games are over.
Ontario has 235 kilometers of HOV lanes for Pan Am, up from 85 km previously.
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/gta/2015/07/22/tolls-coming-to-hov-lanes-wynne-warns.html
