GTA Commutes Getting Longer
Posted January 6, 2010 10:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a fact commuters know all too well: getting around the GTA these days is taking a lot longer than it used to.
But now, there’s hard evidence travel time on some highways has almost doubled in just two years.
According to a new Ministry of Transportation study that measured travel times in 2006 and 2008, the most dramatic increase happened on highways 400 and 404.
In fact, drivers on the 404 between 16th Avenue and the 401 experienced the slowest speeds of any GTA highway.
Average speeds on the 401 between Dixie and Mississauga roads dropped from 95 km/h to just 50 km/h two years later.
And while in 2006, the average speed on the 410 between Bovaird Drive and the 403 was 71 km/h. It dropped to 38 km/h two years later.
“[There are] not enough hours in the day. I have better things to do than sit in my car ripping my hair out,” said driver Tanya Puppi, who confessed to travelling only outside of rush hour.
The good news is those who car pool and take high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, are getting to their destinations, on average, six minutes faster.
The study also found York Region has the widest roads, while Durham enjoyed the best travel times.
