Speakers Corner: The mystery of how highway distance signs are measured revealed

Speakers Corner is back! CityNews wants to hear from you. We’ve been asking you to send us interesting stories, videos or questions you want answered. The Queen Street booth maybe a thing of the past, but we’re still listening and want to hear what’s on your mind.

This week a viewer reached out to us about highway signs that show how far you’re away from a city or town. If you find them a bit confusing, you’re not alone.

In Durham, on the 401 eastbound lanes, you’ll see a sign that reads: ‘Whitby: 8 kilometres’ but less than a football field away, is the welcome to Whitby sign—far less than 8 kilometres.

“I do a lot of driving and always thought that was weird,” said Tyler Hoar.

So what are these signs using as the distance marker? In a day and age where most people use navigation apps to get to their destination, you might not give it much thought. But Matti Siemiatycki, who’s with the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, asked us about it.

“When the sign reads your 50 or so kilometers from Toronto, does it mean to the border at Scarborough or does it mean to downtown?”

It’s definitely not to a city or town’s border. CityNews decided to test it out. We started at a sign in Durham on the 401 which reads: Toronto 56 kilometres away. When we got to the Toronto city line, we had only traveled about 20 kilometres. So when a sign reads you’re 56 kilometres away… Away from what, exactly?

“Distances shown on the signs are measured from the sign to a town or city’s seat of government,” said a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation.

So for Toronto, it measures to City Hall.

But does the Ministry use an aerial or land measurement?

“Measuring the distance is done either by setting the odometer on a vehicle and driving the route or by using computer applications that have specific tools enabling the user to measure the distance remotely.  With either method, the shortest route as measured along the roadway is used to determine the distance.”

In our test where we started at the sign that read Toronto 56 kilometres away, CityNews drove the 401, to the D.V.P., to Richmond Street into downtown. At exactly 56.5 kilometres we ended up right in front of City Hall.

“Interesting. I knew it was not to the border but I did not know it was to City Hall,” said Toronto driver, Renu Kandeepan. “I just assumed somewhere downtown.”

So what if your town does not have a town hall or seat of government? According to the M.T.O. those distances are measured to the geographic centre of the town’s built up area.

“You learn a new thing everyday!” Hoar said amusingly.

If you have a question like this one, or a story you’d like us to look into, reach out to us here.