Are HOT lanes the solution?
Re QEW to get HOT lanes in the summer, Dec. 8 Sitting. Waiting. Staring. I dislike sitting in traffic as much as the next person. It causes delays and stress. So why would I be opposed to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, which some pundits are touting to alleviate traffic congestion?
HOT lanes favour those who have more means over those who do not. This is undemocratic, unconstitutional and not what Canada is about. The idea to offer faster-moving driving lanes for those with more means or ability than others fits the very definition of advantage, and if enforced by law, would be against the spirit of the Charter of Rights.
The roads are paid for and maintained by the people and for the people, and they should remain equally available to the public who already pay for this service, and should not be discriminated upon based on a secondary toll. Jeffrey Woo, Markham The limited rollout of HOT lanes in Burlington-Oakville does not go far enough. They should also be connected to existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on provincial highways, which are far too disconnected from one another. There is a need for more such lanes to allow greater distances to be travelled without interruption.
If the intention is to ensure that the funds collected are attributed to transit then have the funds collected by using the Presto card.
Using the Presto system would remind the potential HOT user that they could have chosen a transit service instead and keeps the funds dedicated to transit improvements. The Presto system could also allocate the funds between the appropriate regional and local transit systems in a predetermined manner. Ilpo Lehto, Hamilton Another bad idea from the Ontario government to take more tax dollars from our pockets. Give us a break. We are already overtaxed for our gasoline and vehicle insurance.
The objective of the MTO should be to get vehicular traffic from one destination to another as quickly and safely as possible. To do this on the QEW between Toronto and Hamilton is simple: open the HOV lanes to regular traffic and there will be no back ups.
The other question is how is the OPP going to enforce the new HOT lanes? Impossible! You said the plan was short on details, well this one is very obvious. Patrick Hurley, Oakville These lanes will become SOT (single occupant toll), not HOT. They will remain high-occupant free.
Several questions arise. Will the cameras that monitor usage be able to see children in the back seat, or babies in car seats? If so, expect sales of used car seats on Kijiji to rise, and dolls to fill them.
Cameras will need to be positioned at every exit, and in between to catch people weaving through lanes to avoid the cameras. Expect carnage and mayhem from desperate dodgers. Otherwise exit cameras would need to monitor all lanes.
Then, whether in the toll lane or not, you can expect to receive a fine in the mail if your time getting to the next camera location shows that your average speed was excessive. Michael Saunders, Toronto If the HOT lanes are like the HOV lanes, they will be a waste of time and money. Many times lately I’ve sat in huge traffic jams on southbound 404 as hundreds of cars go whizzing by in the HOV lane. Trouble is, about 80 per cent per cent of them have only one occupant.
When these selfish morons reach the end of the lane they have to filter back into the regular lanes, thus making the conditions worse. I have never seen one of them pulled over by the police.
Even if electronic tolling is introduced, unless the lane is separated physically, drivers are going to join and leave the lane without paying. Michael Forster, Toronto HOV lanes are a terrible waste of badly needed driving space. There is no conclusive proof that they increase carpooling, only that those who are able to carpool can take advantage of them. Converting HOV lanes into HOT lanes will at least reduce some of the current disgusting waste of pavement. Robert Woodcock, North York Am I correct in believing that HOV lanes (for cars with multiple passengers) were introduced with the intention of reducing traffic congestion and the resulting air pollution? Why then, is the Ontario government reversing those worthwhile goals? The new regulations will allow wealthy drivers to add congestion and pollution to our highway traffic systems.
Perhaps the remaining “99 per cent” will be acknowledged as virtuous. George Dunbar, Toronto Skyrocketing hydro rates, carbon taxes and highway tolls. How much more of Ontario’s citizens’ pockets will the Wynne government clean out? Gordon Friedrich, Woodbridge What is the message the Liberals are sending with their new HOT lanes? If you are well off and can afford daily tolls there is no need for you to sit in traffic with the peasants? I can imagine the steam coming out of people’s ears stuck in traffic who can’t afford the lane as they see the parade of BMWs sailing by. Stan Sutton, Burlington