In order to ease congestion on highways, municipalities often put in HOV (high occupancy vehicle) carpool lanes. In the early 1990s, Vancouver and Toronto did so, in order to help their traffic flow improve. Later on cities like Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary followed suit.
Do carpool lanes help? An Ontario Ministry of Transportation study estimated that commuters were saving between 14 and 17 minutes in Toronto thanks to HOV lanes. Carpooling essentially means less cars on the road at peak times, since more and more people travel together instead of everyone taking their own car to and from work, alone.
In the Edmonton area, The Capital Region Board’s transit committee is currently exploring the idea of a carpool lane pilot project on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Edmonton and Leduc.
Regional transportation infrastructure has been (and is) assessed to look at the six major corridors linking municipalities in the Capital Region to Edmonton. At issue is whether or not things can be improved to make the commute in and out of the city less of a headache for commuters who’d rather not be stuck in long lines of traffic.
Many Fort Saskatchewan residents commute to work in Edmonton using Route 15 or Route 21. It can take a little more than half an hour to get downtown, or up to an hour (or more) if traffic is backed up.
Basically, Edmonton is starting to think more seriously about regional transportation issues, and carpool lanes could be a way to ease congestion. The Edmonton LRT (light rail transit) could also be further developed to help accomplish that goal, though it’d be more expensive and take a longer time to complete needed changes.
Did you know the Edmonton region’s population growth is projected to double by 2040? With potentially two million people living, working and playing around the Capital Region in the coming years, something will have to be done to handle that increased traffic.
The growing population means Edmonton real state will be in demand. If you need advice from an experienced Edmonton realtor, contact Alexis Hlady today.
