Wednesday, 23 December 2015

QEW remains closed after fiery crash Tuesday night


The eastbound lanes of the QEW are expected to remain closed until at least 2:00pm after a horrific crash Tuesday evening.

At around 9:00pm, police responded to reports of a four vehicle collision near Trafalgar Road.

Officers say a tractor trailer initially collided with a car. An SUV then crashed into the wreck, which was then hit and pushed under the truck by a flatbed.

A fire started consuming the three vehicles. Two male occupants of the SUV were pronounced dead on scene. The driver of the tractor trailer was taken to hospital with minor injuries. There is no word on the status of the drivers of the car or flatbed.

Crews are working to repair the section of the highway that was damaged by the fire. They are hoping to have some lanes reopened in time for the afternoon rush.

“As soon as we get vehicles separated we are going to take a look at the road surface below to see how much damage has occurred and if there is an issue there they will have to grind and repave the road surface,” said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.




Source: CP24 , OPP

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

New Year's Eve FREE transit guide



It's almost time to ring in 2016. If you're planning on heading out to a party on New Year's Eve, make sure you arrange a safe ride home.

Many GTA transit agencies will be offering service free of charge to help you arrive alive.

Brampton Zum

Zum is offering free service on all routes across Brampton from 7:00am until approximately 3:00am. You can download their full NYE schedule here. 

Burlington Transit

The City of Burlington will not be offering free service on New Year's Eve. Service will be extended though on select routes until 2:00am. 


Durham Transit

Durham will not be offering free trips on NYE, but will be extending service to 2:00am on select routes. Grab the full holiday schedule here.


GO Transit

GO will be offering free service after 7:00pm on all train and bus routes. Special late night trains are being added to help people get home safely.

LAKESHORE WEST

Special late-night train trips will depart Aldershot at 00:01 & 01:01
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 00:13, 01:43 & 02:43

LAKESHORE EAST

Special late-night train trip will depart Oshawa at 00:38
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 23:43, 00:43, 01:30 & 02:30

MILTON

Special late-night train trips will depart Milton at 20:15 & 21:15
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 01:35 & 02:35

KITCHENER

Special late-night train trips will depart Georgetown at 20:00 & 21:00
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 01:40 & 02:40

BARRIE

Special late-night train trips will depart Allandale at 20:05 & 21:05
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 01:25 & 02:25

RICHMOND HILL

No special late-night train trips or bus adjustments

STOUFFVILLE

Special late-night train trip will depart Lincolnville at 20:00 & 21:00
Special late-night train trips will depart Union at 01:50 & 02:50



Hamilton Transit

HSR will be offering free service on NYE starting at 6:00pm. Buses will, however, operate on a regular weekday schedule with no extended service announced at this time. The service will operate on a Sunday schedule New Year's Day. 


Milton Transit

Milton will unfortunately not be offering free trips or extended service, instead operating on a regular weekday schedule. Those taking advantage of the additional GO Train trips should arrange a taxi or Uber to take them the rest of the way home. 


MiWay Mississauga Transit

Mississauga Transit has free service from 7:00pm to 4:00 on New Year's Eve. Extended service is being offered on several bus routes. Check their website for full details. 



Oakville Transit

Oakville Transit will be free on NYE from 7:00pm until approximately 3:30am. Buses will be available to meet the additional late night GO Train trips. 


TTC

The TTC will be offering free service from 7:00pm on New Year's Eve to 7:00am on New Year's Day.

Bus service will be extended to 4:00am on most routes.

New Year’s Eve last subway times:

  • Yonge-University-Spadina: north from Union Station at 3:30 a.m.
  • Bloor-Danforth: east or west from Bloor-Yonge Station at 3:37 a.m.
  • Scarborough RT: east from Kennedy Station at 4:07 a.m.
  • Sheppard Line: east from Sheppard-Yonge Station at 3:58 a.m.

York Region Transit / VIVA

There will be free service on the YRT on from 7:00pm to 4:00am on all routes New Year's Eve. Select routes will have extended service. Check their website for full details. 









Saturday, 12 December 2015

Cyclist ignores train crossing, rides into side of train


Drivers often get their backs up at cyclists for ignoring the basic rules of the road. Especially given the dangers of biking around large, fast moving vehicles.

A Polish rider learned that the hard way after choosing to ignoring warnings at a level crossing.

CCTV video shows the cyclist leisurely swerving around the barrier, then slamming into the side of an oncoming train. 

It's not clear what the man was thinking, or even if he noticed the train.

Police want to remind cyclists that they must stop at all controlled intersections and level crossing.

Warning: some may find the following video disturbing. 

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Regina transport officials don't luv sign hacking


City of Regina officials aren't impressed after some boobs hacked a digital road sign Sunday night.

Construction on Albert Street was supposed to be marked with the sign. However, one cheeky resident changed it to read "honk if you luv titties."

"I don't appreciate people tampering with our equipment" said Norman Kyle, Regina's Director of Roadways and Transportation.

"It's basically vandalism to public property."

The signs require a password in order to change the display. Kyle suspects it may have been done by a current or former city worker.

Passwords were changed on Monday, and the city will be implementing tougher rules to prevent tampering in the future.

In unrelated news, the city has seen a large spike in babies and men honking horns.

Source: CBC Saskatchewan
Photo by Jillian Love via Facebook

Monday, 7 December 2015

London's Black Cabs becoming roving traffic reporters



Can't check your phone to grab the latest traffic update? Just look for the nearest taxi instead.


Transportation for London will fit 200 of the city's iconic Black Cabs with digital billboards that broadcast traffic warnings.

The messages will inform drivers of traffic levels and known problems in about 50 areas around London. The system uses GPS technology to insure information is both accurate and presented in real time.

"Using the Capital's fleet of taxis to get real-time traffic information out will inform other drivers of any disruption on the network, helping them to avoid the most congested routes." said Transportation for London COO Garrett Emmerson in a press release.

BrightMove Media is the company behind the billboards. Drivers are paid £1,500 to mount the signs on their roof. The signs will also display advertising.

London has been testing several different solutions to reduce the city's infamous congestion, including a system that dynamically changes traffic light timing based on volume.

Source: ArsTechnica

High Occupancy Toll lane pilot to launch next summer



Ontario's transportation minister Steven Del Duca announced the province is going ahead with a pilot project that will add high occupancy toll lanes (HOT) to the QEW.

Starting in the Summer of 2016, drivers will be able to purchase a permit that will allow them to drive in the HOV lanes without any passengers.

The lanes will occupy a stretch between Guelph Line and Trafalgar Road. Del Duca says up to 1,000 permits will be offered for an undisclosed price.

Speaking to CP24, Del Duca said that “through this pilot, we’ll improve performance on the QEW, introduce the concept of (High-occupancy toll lanes) to the region, and gather information that will help inform our long-term plan.”

Del Duca stressed that HOV lanes will remain free for vehicles with two or more people inside.

“This is just another weapon in the arsenal that we have with respect to being creative to fight congestion in this region,”

The project will be monitored by Ministry of Transportation staff to see how the new lanes are being used. If everything goes well, the province expects to slowly roll out HOT lanes to other GTA highways over the coming years.

On this week's Twitter poll, we want to know if you think the new HOT lanes will reduce congestion. 

Photo by Haljackey, via Wikipedia. Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 Share Alike.