Nine times out of 10, driving Ontario’s highways sucks.
There’s the unbearable traffic anywhere south of Barrie, weather tantrums for half the year, and, when an absence of these factors aligns, you can still only drive marginally faster than the speed of a baseball pitch.
An improvement on the last point may be on the horizon, however. Starting mid-September, the provincial government will increase the speed limit of three Ontario highways to 110 km/h as part of a pilot project to ‘explore new ways to improve transportation network’.
The three highways are:
- – The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) from St. Catharines to Hamilton
– Highway 402 from London to Sarnia
– Highway 417 from Ottawa/Gloucester to the Ontario/Quebec border
Increasing the highway speed limit would put Ontario on par with Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. British Columbia currently boasts the fastest speed limit in the country, at 120 km/h. Meanwhile, the fastest you can legally drive in Nunavut and Prince Edward Island is 90 km/h.
“Results from the pilot and all feedback received during consultations will be carefully considered as a part of the final decision-making process,” said Transportation Minister in a statement on behalf of ‘Ontario’s Government for the People’. ” During these pilots, we are adding extra safety measures, such as increased signage and messaging to make sure that all drivers know where the speed limits changes.”
Enjoy your new leeway and be safe out there.