If you think I-4 is bad around Orlando...

[bsbkmacgowan]

Okay, we've driven all around the Eastern half of North America over the years. And yes, I-4 is always pretty busy whenever we've been down to WDW ('cause we've always driven...)

But nowhere, and I mean nowhere have we ever seen as bad of traffic (consistently) as around Toronto.

Imagine, if you will, The 401 (the major route through southern Ontario, and I do believe Canada's most-travelled highway.) At its widest point, along the southern edge of Lester B. Pearson International Airport, The 401 is a mighty 18-lanes wide, 9 in either direction, with 4 lanes in either direction's Express lanes, and 5 in either direction's Collectors lanes. That's the widest highway in North America, or so it is claimed. (If you want to know more, look here: http://www.thekingshighway.ca/Hwy401.htm ) Now, although there are 18 lanes, traffic never moves smoothly through this area. Basically, if they built the highway any wider, the traffic would simply fill in all available spaces. Kind of like Jell-O.

Okay. Now, you also have to realize that the morning "rush hour" in Toronto starts around 6:00 am, and the traffic doesn't slack off until about 10:30 or 11:00 am. That is followed by the lunch hour "rush" that runs from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm. Then, there's the evening "rush" that starts at 2:30 pm and runs until about 8:00 pm on a "good day."

Let's throw in a little bit of bad weather (snow or even just a little bit of rain) and you might as well forget about driving anywhere.

And let's not even mention that most-dreaded of all words... CONSTRUCTION

Thanks to everything mentioned above, it has taken us over 2 hours to get to the top of the city... oh to be living in Orlando right now...

Yours in gridlock...

Sandy (and Brian, Bonnie and Kellie)

 

[GotAnyPins]

Once I was in a little Renault that I rented in Buffalo, where I flew in too...and I was driving the 401 to the 400 to go to Muskoka, and it took me 6 tries before I could get on it...If you are in one lane and want to transfer lanes....well FORGET IT!!!!! no one would let us in, we had to keep edging over, and then get off on another exit, go back, and try it again..we did that 6 times before we could get on the 400...we had that little renault going as fast as it could, and we still couldn't keep up w/ the traffic....we were in hysterical laughter by the time we got on our hwy...I never saw anything like it, and I also drove in Miami!!!!

 

[OfficerChipmunk]

Brian & Sandy,
You guys need to leave the car at the hotel and use Toronto's Subway. That's how we always get around when we go there. It is so much easier and less stressfull. After driving in Toronto and DC my mom now refuses to drive in big cities.
Becky

 

[bsbkmacgowan]

Hiya Becky! Oops, maybe you didn't realize we live in Toronto, not just visiting here. But yes, you're right, we really should ride "The Red Rocket" more, but now that our 2 kids require tickets, too, it's getting cost-prohibitive... (single-rides are now $2.25 for adults, still 50 cents for kids I believe; 10 tokens/tickets are $1.90 apiece for adults...) It's really frustrating; the TTC keeps raising their fares because not enough people are riding... which causes less people to ride, so they raise the fares 'cause not enough people are riding... which causes less people to... you get the picture. Major Catch-22 happening. It really is so much cheaper for us to drive, as much as Brian is travelling for his work now.

I guess the main reason we don't take advantage of the subway is that unless you're only going to the central portion of the city, you're out of luck (unlike NYC, where the subway goes pretty much all over...) And the buses and streetcars just get caught up in the rest of the snarl of traffic...

Most of Brian's clients are located all throughout the city, from one end to the other. (We were riding "shotgun" with him yesterday in between calls when we got caught up in all the traffic.) The good thing, though, is that we've leased an official "NerdMobile" (which increases his commission and is also his main method of advertising his business) so all of our driving around is tax-deductible for his business. (And just to show off the kids, as well as "Little Red"...)

Yup, that's 12 NerdMobiles parked between the SkyDome and "The Hangar" where the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors play... (We take part in NerdMobile Parades with other Toronto-area Nerds as often as possible to drum up business.) And yes, just to keep this post slightly on topic Bonnie & Kellie named our car "Little Red" after the baby elephant at AK!

And believe it or not, we traded in our Plymouth Voyager minivan for the Beetle... and as we live in a condo apartment (and only have a single parking space available...) it's our only vehicle! It's going to make packing to drive down to WDW a whole lot more interesting!

Now if only we could be the first Nerds On Site to start up in Orlando!

But thanks for the reminder about the TTC!

Sandy (and Brian, Bonnie & Kellie!)