By arthur Weinreb
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The McGuinty government is celebrating the first year anniversary of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes that were constructed on parts of Highways 403 and 404 (Note to Dalton: get a life). Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield declared the lanes "an unqualified success” and announced that more HOV lanes would be added to the 400 series of Ontario highways, most notably on the 400 from Toronto to Barrie.
a study carried out for our free-spending provincial government found that the HOV lanes saved motorists who used them, an average of 14 minutes on their southern journey along Highway 404. as a result of cars vacating the other lanes, drivers in those other lanes saved an average of 9 minutes during peak periods. What we don't know is what would be the result if another regular lane was simply added to the southbound 404.
There is no doubt that drivers can save time with the HOV lanes. Not only is gridlock eased a little bit, but McGuinty's boys and girls can get a good night's sleep knowing that they have done their bit to save the planet from the evils of global warming. and it sure is a lot easier than closing those pesky coal fired plants, isn't it, Dalton?
Despite the benefits, there are a couple of indicators that the main reason for further construction of these lanes is to give the tax and spend Liberals at Queen's Park another chance to grab money from the overtaxed populace. The first hint of this newly found source of funding for Dalton's logo changes came when the OPP held an HOV lane blitz. Now unlike similar blitzes that are done from time to time to enforce the seat belt laws or to remove unsafe vehicles from the roads, this blitz could not be justified on the grounds of public safety. a lone driver, driving illegally in an HOV lane poses neither a greater danger to himself or others. The OPP would like us to believe that they were "educating” the public to use these lanes and merely enforcing the law. Of course if the OPP were really into enforcing the law, they would enforce it in all areas of the province where they have jurisdiction – even in Caledonia. When more of these lanes are built, look for more blitzes to bring more revenue in to an always cash-starved government. and don't look for this to change if John Tory becomes premier; he's the guy who spent the last week or so blasting the Liberals for giving former Hydro One CEO Tom Parkinson a $3 million severance package right before he voted himself a 25 per cent pre-Christmas pay raise.
It would make a lot more sense if these lanes were designated for high occupancy vehicles only during rush hours or peak travel times. But they are all 24/7. The reasoning is supposedly that it is just too difficult to make them part time HOV lanes. Where these lanes exist on the streets of Toronto, they are only designated as HOV lanes during peak rush hour periods. Supposedly, while sophisticated Torontonians can learn when it's legal and illegal for single occupancy vehicles to use these lanes, it's just too much to expect the rubes from Keswick to be able to tell know what time it is when they're driving back and forth from the centre of the universe. The lanes are constructed so that drivers are only supposed to move into or out of them at designated locations. They are not to cross the solid white lines that border most of these lanes. Of course this is the 21st century and these solid white lines, much like stop signs on residential streets are merely treated as suggestions. When there is less traffic on the roads, drivers unexpectedly weave back and forth between the HOV lanes and the others, something that wouldn't be able to happen as often if these lanes were only used during peak traffic periods.
We have a lot to look forward to in the years ahead – more HOV lanes and more provincial cash grabs. It's hardly surprising.
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