Highway Expansion Proposal Stirs Debate in Toronto

The Canadian Press reports that the Toronto Region Board of Trade is pushing a plan to add lanes above or below the existing Highway 401 near Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The proposal to add lanes to Highway 401 is necessary, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, to alleviate higher prices on consumer goods created by congestion.

The new lanes are one of three proposals announced by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, as reported in the article.

Following the news about the Toronto Region Board of Trade's idea for easing congestion, Edward Keenan  writes a column that criticizes the idea for adding lanes to Highway 401.

The idea of taking the stretch of that highway running through Toronto, already 16 lanes across, and adding levels that zip above and below it like a real-life Hot Wheels track might have some playroom appeal (no word yet on adding a loop-de-loop). Certainly the idea of easing gridlock sound good.

But it ain't gonna work. Adding lanes to congested highways never does for very long.