Raise the Hammer

Hamilton's Ring Road is a joke. One half of the ring is a choked-up expressway that is on the far side of a lake, and the other half is a parkway that is on the other side of a massive cliff that only has a half dozen overcrowded cuts to get down. And our city is very long and slim.

I did not bring up the "ring road" concept, but I thank you for doing so. We have surrounded the city with highways - spent billions under the guise of removing traffic (especially trucks) from the core, and spurring development in faraway business parks - and it hasn't happened yet. You are saying it's wrong to suggest we start using that network as designed?

Furthermore, your description of the highways is purposefully defeatist. "choked up expressway"? "massive cliff"? Spare us the hyperbole.

Traffic which originates outside of the core and has a destination outside the core has no business being in the core. You talk about the "lake" (I assume you mean the bay) and the "cliff" (I assume you mean the escarpment) as if the drivers of the car need to put pontoons and chains on in order to navigate these natural features like 18th century pioneers. We have conquered nature via highway construction and driving around the city is a relative breeze. I (and I assume you) have done it many times so you can stop pretending that it's an impossible chore.

The problem is that we have made it equally easy to drive through the city as it is to drive around it. This is at best inappropriate and at worst actively damaging. Ask anyone who lives or works near (or worse, on) these urban freeways. It is absolute crap.

Sorry that I don't think it's appropriate for residents of the core to sacrifice quality of life for the convenience of through traffic.

You don't really believe that a one way street is "killing the city" do you?

I did not say that "a one way street is killing the city". I said "This through-traffic goal is literally killing the city." These are two completely different statements. We have built our entire traffic management system to encourage one thing - getting through the city as fast as possible in a car. Not into the city. Not from place to place within the city. But clean across it from one end to the other with no regard for wat's in between. And yes, I believe this mentality is a huge part of what is killing the city. It's not only about the direction of the lanes so don't put words in my mouth.

wouldn't the maximum time that a person could do that be the time that the lights stay green between red lights?

Sure. So let's say that a light cycle is 3 minutes. And let's say you can get from Dundurn to Gage park in 6 minutes. (it's about 5km, so 6 minutes at the speed limit). If you catch a yellow then you can easily spend half of your trip through the city going 60-70. Of course you won't get anywhere any faster than if you did 50, but that doesn't stop people from trying. Anyone who has driven on Main or Cannon has seen this behaviour with their own eyes. Pretending it doesn't happen doesn't make your point valid.

Your point about slowing traffic down causing more gasoline usage is factually incorrect. You have made similar factually incorrect statements in other threads about slowing traffic down as well. You made a point about removing trees and removing parking and widening lanes having a result in fewer fatal collisions. This is demonstrably false despite the fact that it goes against what you consider to be common sense.

I am sorry if I am coming across as rude, but I live and work downtown and frankly, I am sick of bending over backward to ensure that you can crank up the tunes and cruise through Hamilton as fast as possible.

Come down here, stop the car and let's stand aside cannon street and talk about it in person. It is the least comfortable place in the city for a human to occupy. It would be more comfortable to do so on the side of the 403 - at least there would be a shoulder separating us from the transport trucks.

Comment edited by seancb on 2010-11-16 17:22:53