|
Post by jetsfan85 on Oct 10, 2013 21:32:03 GMT -6
This has been a very sticky issue with many Winnipeggers. How do we improve Winnipeg's main roadways and make them more free?
Winnipeg is so far behind in this category it hurts. WE have no real freeways, our highways have traffic lighs on them. We only have clovers and off ramps on a few over passes on Pembina and Bishop, Lagemodier and Concordia, and Route 90 just south of Portage. How much money would we need to invest to make Winnipeg more travel-able like other major cities. There is a reason it takes you an hour and a half to go across Winnipeg.. Because we don't have a freeway! Even the Perimeter Highway has traffic lights!!..like come on!!
Another issue I find is the length of turn lights around the city. At Lagemodier and Regent.. 17 cars in line thursday night on Regent waiting to turn onto Lagemodiere and 5 get through on the light.. MY lord that is annoying. The lack of a turn light at all at Talbot and Watt (talbot going onto watt sb) is sickening. Also another place thats mind boggling for no turn signals is ( I THINK..correct me if I am wrong because I was driving and can't remember where it was) Marion WB turning onto Archibald SB.. If there is a signal there then I forget where I was but it was somewhere that didn't have a turn light that REALLY REALLY needed one. I sat through 8 lights waiting to turn.(yes I counted).. WAIT I REMEMBER NOW.. I was by the outlet all in Lindenwoods and was on Lindenwoods Dr going to go back onto Route 90 SB. 3 Lanes of traffic coming out of the shopping area on the west side of the road and the outlet side had no turn signal to turn onto route 90.. are you kidding me?!
Anyone have any traffic stories or ideas to share?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2013 2:07:25 GMT -6
It's much worse in Calgary and Edmonton.
|
|
|
Post by grumpy on Oct 11, 2013 5:13:50 GMT -6
Winnipeg traffic is mostly fine. There are times when it frustrates, but rush hours will always create traffic problems. I can do with much fewer traffic lights. The city must embrace 21st century traffic management techniques: proper interchanges; sensor controlled traffic lights; timed traffic lights; manual intervention in extreme situations.
I've travelled extensively and lived in Toronto. It's not that bad here...
|
|
|
Post by phillymike on Oct 11, 2013 6:41:26 GMT -6
It's not bad, but could be better. The traffic light timing is just plain ridiculous, and IMO done purposely, so more gas is consumed, thus in turn more $$$ goes into the government through the gas tax.
|
|
|
Post by grumpy on Oct 11, 2013 7:13:04 GMT -6
...and IMO done purposely, so more gas is consumed, thus in turn more $$$ goes into the government through the gas tax. I'd not heard that conspiracy theory before. Thanks for the chuckle.
|
|
|
Post by JordyRamone on Oct 11, 2013 7:26:36 GMT -6
It's not bad, but could be better. The traffic light timing is just plain ridiculous, and IMO done purposely, so more gas is consumed, thus in turn more $$$ goes into the government through the gas tax. Got a tin foil hat I could borrow?
|
|
|
Post by jval07 on Oct 11, 2013 7:39:29 GMT -6
Narrow minded thinking on our infrastructure has screwed all our main arteries up. I teach in Transcona and used to come down Nairn/Regent... what a nightmare. Then became more of a nightmare when the city decided to close one lane during rush hour just for buses. Brilliant! No major city in the world would have a traffic light at Lag and Regent. Especially when Regent has a light at Panet, Lag, Stapon then Rougeau. So gross. Don't even get me started on how messed up Lag and Bishop and Route 90 is. Terrible designs. With the addition of Chief Peguis Trail and the development at Headmaster there is now a light at the Perimeter, Headmaster, Springfield, Chief Peguis and Grassie... and still only two lanes of traffic. Head down Lag on a Friday at 4:00, or on a Sunday during Cabin/camping season and good luck. I use the North Perimeter quite a bit and nevermind lights on the Perimeter (at Pipeline) I hit a train twice this week between McPhillips and Main on the North Perimeter. 100-110 km/h to a screeching stop. My wife can't stand me constantly complaining about our roadways so happy I can vent here.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2013 8:21:48 GMT -6
Narrow minded thinking on our infrastructure has screwed all our main arteries up. I teach in Transcona and used to come down Nairn/Regent... what a nightmare. Then became more of a nightmare when the city decided to close one lane during rush hour just for buses. Brilliant! No major city in the world would have a traffic light at Lag and Regent. Especially when Regent has a light at Panet, Lag, Stapon then Rougeau. So gross. Actually, Regina is arguably worse. All the new subdivisions and commercial development is to the immediate East of the city, and it's a nightmare. The Trans-Canada should be as close as you can get to a limited access highway from Vancouver to Winnipeg, and Regina has put the kibosh on that. Could not agree more. I have no idea what on earth the city planners were thinking when they started to put all that retail shops on both sides of Kenaston, when it could have been turned into an expressway from south of Taylor. The fact that they made an at-grade intersection at Sterling Lyon, right near the new IKEA, proves that Winnipeg has no kind of vision. They should take a cue from Edmonton, who did it right with off ramps, and diamond interchanges near their IKEA at South Edmonton Commons. The Headmaster interchange makes me shake my head, when just 500 metres north, the city desperately needs to do something with the Perimeter-Lagimodiere intersection. It's become the provincial version of confusion corner. Why they did not complete that overpass when they finished the Perimeter 15 years ago, is beyond my comprehension.
|
|
|
Post by The Unknown Poster on Oct 11, 2013 8:27:51 GMT -6
Winnipeg is cheap. That's the problem. They build for now. You could argue they build for ten years ago. They should build for the future.
Look at Route 90. When they built the Kenaston extension that was called a "freeway". It moves well at times but around the big box stores, it's awful, crawling from light to light and will only get worse as Seasons of Tuxedo gets built out. Not only did they build that exension not too long ago, but they recently tore part of it up to account fro Waverly West. No forsight. They should not have 4 way intersections along Kenaston. It should have been modeled afer Regina's Ring Road with off-ramps and access roads to the stores. Lord knows there was enough room.
Look at the Perimetre. Meant to be a fast route around the city. They have lighted intersections. Ridiculous. Train crossings. Ridiculous. And they supposedly have plans to change some of those yet their plans for Waverly West include closing the intersecion at Waverly and creating a new one at Kensaston/Perimetre and guess what, it will be an at-grade lighted intersecion. No foresight.
Our illustrious Mayor Sammy made synchronized lights an election promise how many years ago? In classic Sammy style, he just lies. I heard him about a year ago on CJOB claiming that the lights were much improved, especially on Pembina HWY. He actually said that and I was listening while crawling along Pembina HWY.
This city has a very poor master traffic plan and is terribly cheap. Watching the Waverly West project, they put down roads for a few months, tear them up and change them. That's what this city does. They plan for right now (at best).
|
|
|
Post by grumpy on Oct 11, 2013 8:36:55 GMT -6
Waverly West was approved with a flyover. True to form they took the fly-over out and added another bizarro light-controlled intersection.
|
|
|
Post by TheDeuce on Oct 11, 2013 8:40:58 GMT -6
1. Way too many traffic lights. 2. Ill-timed traffic lights. 3. Speed limits too low.
Three issues that could be addressed in the short term. Real solutions involving on/off ramps in lieu of stop/start intersections are more difficult to implement. Although much could be done by making more merge lanes AND teaching drivers how to use them. I can't tell you how often I'm sitting behind some fool turning right off of east-bound Bishop to head south on Waverley. Nice big long merge lane just waiting there to be used for speeding up and merging and this dolt is sitting there at a standstill with bovine indifference to the gridlock he's creating behind him.
m.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2013 8:49:44 GMT -6
Three issues that could be addressed in the short term. Real solutions involving on/off ramps in lieu of stop/start intersections are more difficult to implement. Although much could be done by making more merge lanes AND teaching drivers how to use them. I can't tell you how often I'm sitting behind some fool turning right off of east-bound Bishop to head south on Waverley. Nice big long merge lane just waiting there to be used for speeding up and merging and this dolt is sitting there at a standstill with bovine indifference to the gridlock he's creating behind him. They should have done an overpass 20 years ago at that intersection.
|
|
|
Post by grumpy on Oct 11, 2013 8:53:22 GMT -6
1. Way too many traffic lights. 2. Ill-timed traffic lights. 3. Speed limits too low. Three issues that could be addressed in the short term. Real solutions involving on/off ramps in lieu of stop/start intersections are more difficult to implement. Although much could be done by making more merge lanes AND teaching drivers how to use them. I can't tell you how often I'm sitting behind some fool turning right off of east-bound Bishop to head south on Waverley. Nice big long merge lane just waiting there to be used for speeding up and merging and this dolt is sitting there at a standstill with bovine indifference to the gridlock he's creating behind him. m. Yup. That is an artifact of drivers in this city having little experience with merging traffic. How many people know they are to yield to merging traffic? I try to clear the lane but some bozo zips up and fills the lane preventing merges. Then there are the idiots that slowly drive into merged traffic only to zip across into the left lane and higher speed traffic.
|
|
|
Post by The Unknown Poster on Oct 11, 2013 9:22:46 GMT -6
Every "traffic issue" in this city is solved by "slowing down traffic". There must be some real anal pricks at City Hall.
|
|
|
Post by shakinallover on Oct 11, 2013 10:21:07 GMT -6
Take the politicians out of city planning and don't let them have any influence whatsoever. That'll take care of the majority of the screw ups. Lagimodiere is a mess but if they would have followed through on the initial plan to extend Bishop Grandin through the west portion of Transcona to eventually hook up with the Chief Peguis trail a lot of that traffic would have been split. Thanks to Mr. Wyatt and his predecessor who pandered to a few voters along Plessis and kiboshed the whole plan we now must live with the results. By the way the land had all been purchased but now rests with some developers and car dealerships, you know, the kind of people who make big contributions to political campaigns...
|
|