Promises made by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to buy Highway 407 and remove the tolls to help ease chronic gridlock have so far come up empty,
Oshawa MPP Jennifer French, the NDP Critic for Infrastructure, Transportation & Highways, called out the government’s inaction on Highway 407 as the region faces some of the “worst traffic worldwide.”
“People deserve a government that gets them where they need to go, safely and efficiently,” said French. “While people are stuck in gridlock across the GTA, the 407 sits half-empty – and this premier isn’t doing anything about it.”
I agree with MPP French on a lot of things, but not this.
If the 407 sits half empty, that means people would rather pay with their time on the 401, than their money on the 407. That’s their decision.
Making the 407 also free will just make both highways size up and probably induce even more traffic.
Still, given that our dear Premier seems bound and determined to put more cars on the road, removing the tolls on the 407 seems like it would be cheaper and easier than tunneling under the 401.
Yeah, this is really about finding something for Ford to latch on to that does the least possible harm.
FWIW, the 407 in Durham Region just goes through empty space. And it’s a PITA to get to it if you live closer to the 401 (it adds like 20+ minutes at a minimum to your drive).
Make it free to see what happens. I don’t think it would change much of anything. Ford may get more votes out of it, but I don’t think it would ease traffic all that much, just because of how far it is from the city centre.