Qew

[wee-haggis]

Ontario needs an alternate to the QEW. It is a nightmare.
Normally we drive down to Fort Erie from Durham Region in 2 hours 15 minutes
leaving home around 5 am. Usually drive 401 to QEW
Our last trip we left home at 11 am Saturday took 407 (no problem wide open road ) to 403 to QEW which was bumper to bumper the entire stretch of road.
The drive took 5 hours and the construction along the QEW was constant.
Please can we have a new highway to Niagara.

 

[Susan2771]

Oh gosh, that is so brutal The QEW has become a nightmare to Niagara Falls now. We use to go a number of times a year because our girls love going to Clifton Hill and I just love Niagara on the Lake, but we just can't take the crazy traffic to there that many times a year now. We could fly to Florida some days from Toronto in less amount of time than it takes to drive to Niagara.
Would emailing an MP help I wonder? I have no idea how in gov't can improve that situation.

 

[minnie56]

I live 5 mins from the QEW and totally agree!!! It is a nightmare! With the endless construction and who knows the the HOV lane will ever open (!!!) getting even to where I live can be just torture...they keep building though in Oakville & Burlington and places beyond but don't give thought to the infrastructure to support it!!!

ughhhhhhhhh

 

[DutchsMommy]

So, I dont usually pay any attention to the QEW as we live on the East side of Toronto. However, in mid-Oct we will be driving to BUF. Specifically we will be driving around 2pm ish from Durham region and plan on heading over at Ft Erie. I think I usually drive straight out the QEW from the 407. Should I consider changing my route? The day we are leaving is actually Thanksgiving (Oct 11) so I would imagine the traffic would be lighter? I am also not sure what the Peace Bridge will be like going over to the USA on Cdn Thanksgiving - anyone have any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[minnie56]

So hard to say Generally any Canadian holiday sees flocks heading across the border..but then my DH crossed the other day to collect a package in Lewiston and he waited 2.5 hours to cross and 90 mins to cross coming back via Fort Erie? No rhyme or reason..he did say though that they were opening just about every other car. We have Nexus..but still by the time he got to that lane he had already waited hours...

 

[snickerboo]

My parents live in Niagara and I find it a pain in the behind every time I go to visit them now. It's always congested!

 

[wee-haggis]

The problem is there really is no alternative to the QEW.
I would advise you to leave plenty of time to travel down to Fort Erie it will probably not be a pleasant drive give yourself lots of wiggle room to account for possible accidents and lots of construction. 407 should be a breeze but QEW will be busy. They were checking every car (opening the trunk) at the crossing in Fort Erie so it took a while to get through. If you arrive early in Buffalo you can shop or go for an early dinner.
Good Luck

 

[Alderbrook]

Are you guys talking about the QEW thru Oakville/Burlington? I haven't had any problems heading Niagara way but I get on in Stoney Creek, but heading to TO this summer has been brutal with construction! You can take the 407 right into Burlington & skip it all & then hook up with the QEW Niagara. It will cost you about $25 (we've driven it the whole way) but you won't have the Oakville construction to deal with.

but then my DH crossed the other day to collect a package in Lewiston and he waited 2.5 hours to cross and 90 mins to cross coming back via Fort Erie?

Did he cross over in Lewiston & come back via Ft. Erie? I would never cross at Lewiston no matter what, there's always a wait there! We've never waited more than 20 mins to cross at Ft. Erie into the US, coming home though is a different story.

 

[wee-haggis]

The problems on the QEW are beyond Oakville and Burlington.
The road works extend through St Catharines and beyond.
We encountered the problems on our way to BUF on a Saturday....and the same thing on a Saturday coming back (road works worse going west it seemed)

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

Traffic along there can be brutal if you don't time it right.

We are going to leave plenty early on the Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend to make sure we don't miss our flight out of Rochester!! I figure we can always get over there and stop for lunch before heading to the airport!!

 

[Alderbrook]

The problems on the QEW are beyond Oakville and Burlington.
The road works extend through St Catharines and beyond.
We encountered the problems on our way to BUF on a Saturday....and the same thing on a Saturday coming back (road works worse going west it seemed)

I know they have construction thru St. Catharines, but where else past that? We drove down to Ft. Erie on the Friday before the civic holiday weekend & didn't have a problem & we came home in rush hour & didn't have any problems. Traffic though is always worse on the QEW on a weekend in the summer because of tourism heading to Niagara Falls in the AM & heading back in the PM.

If anyone is interested, here's a map of construction along all the highways, just click on "construction" on the left menu bar. I only see from Stoney Creek to Ft Erie 2 places (thru St Catharines & Lyons Creek Rd to Netherby Rd) which also has been going on since last year but has never impacted us.

Map: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/map.shtml

 

[wee-haggis]

I know they have construction thru St. Catharines, but where else past that? We drove down to Ft. Erie on the Friday before the civic holiday weekend & didn't have a problem & we came home in rush hour & didn't have any problems. Traffic though is always worse on the QEW on a weekend in the summer because of tourism heading to Niagara Falls in the AM & heading back in the PM.

If anyone is interested, here's a map of construction along all the highways, just click on "construction" on the left menu bar. I only see from Stoney Creek to Ft Erie 2 places (thru St Catharines & Lyons Creek Rd to Netherby Rd) which also has been going on since last year but has never impacted us.

Map: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/trip/map.shtml

The section near Niagara Falls was busy last Saturday night heading to TO.
Lets put it this way. We've done the trip from Oshawa about a dozen times back and forth. Normally (with a quick stop in Grimsby)it takes us 2hrs and 20 mins. Two Saturdays ago (in the AM) it took 4hrs 30 mins (some of it was due to a 401 accident.....but mostly due to construction ,lane narrowing delays.)
The trip home last Saturday night was about 3 hours and change.

 

[minnie56]

Are you guys talking about the QEW thru Oakville/Burlington? I haven't had any problems heading Niagara way but I get on in Stoney Creek, but heading to TO this summer has been brutal with construction! You can take the 407 right into Burlington & skip it all & then hook up with the QEW Niagara. It will cost you about $25 (we've driven it the whole way) but you won't have the Oakville construction to deal with.



Did he cross over in Lewiston & come back via Ft. Erie? I would never cross at Lewiston no matter what, there's always a wait there! We've never waited more than 20 mins to cross at Ft. Erie into the US, coming home though is a different story.

He did...but he had no choice as he was collecting a package there in Lewiston and then had to go to Fort Erie for a 'site survey' for a job. I have waited at Fort Erie many times of late I am afraid....not sure why...but it is getting crazy.

 

[treehugnmama]

i AM in Niagara and I agree it is horrible!! Wait till the new hospital opens the congestion at 4th ave is going to be a nightmare. It doesn't help that parts of the highway example on ramps from 406 have been closed for months and months. dh drives to to and back everyday and it is getting worse and worse.

 

[minnie56]

i AM in Niagara and I agree it is horrible!! Wait till the new hospital opens the congestion at 4th ave is going to be a nightmare. It doesn't help that parts of the highway example on ramps from 406 have been closed for months and months. dh drives to to and back everyday and it is getting worse and worse.

Wow--your DH deserves a medal! Couldn't pay me enough......in fact, flying out of Buffalo is losing it's appeal for me. DD attends school in NYC and comes home here and there...last time we were at the border for sooo long she missed her Jetblue flight. Last 2 times we have flown her home AC and she's trying Porter at Thanksgiving. So not worth the hassle some of the time unless you are heading down the night prior.

 

[OntFamily]

So hard to say Generally any Canadian holiday sees flocks heading across the border..but then my DH crossed the other day to collect a package in Lewiston and he waited 2.5 hours to cross and 90 mins to cross coming back via Fort Erie? No rhyme or reason..he did say though that they were opening just about every other car. We have Nexus..but still by the time he got to that lane he had already waited hours...

We have NEXUS as well, and we use the Whirlpool Bridge in Niagara Falls for most of our crossings. It rarely has more than a one or two minute wait.

 

[minnie56]

Yes--that's a good option. But in the case of my DH and often myself when I order things for Stateside delivery...that would make a fair hike back to Lewiston. I did just tell my friends I go shopping with though that they better get Nexus cards or no more shopping for them! When we are crossing for a little retail therapy..it's all or none!!!

 

[OntFamily]

Yes--that's a good option. But in the case of my DH and often myself when I order things for Stateside delivery...that would make a fair hike back to Lewiston. I did just tell my friends I go shopping with though that they better get Nexus cards or no more shopping for them! When we are crossing for a little retail therapy..it's all or none!!!

It's only about 10 minutes extra from the 405 to the Whirlpool Bridge, and 10 minutes back to Lewiston on the USA side. If the wait @ Lewiston is more than 20 minutes (and on most weekends, it's far more than an hour), the Whirlpool Bride would be faster.

 

[Alderbrook]

We have a 2 pm flight on the 18th & we're leaving our house @ 8:30 am, should put us in St. Catharines about 9:20ish. I've only got stuck in teh St. Catharines traffic once & it was a Sat at 11:00 am in August.

For us, I would be more concerned trying to get to YYZ in time than BUF.

 

[minnie56]

Oh is it OntFamily, didn't realize that it wasn't very far apart? Worth knowing thanks!

Alderbrook, that's because you've never missed a flt from Buffalo! We have. Toronto, never.

I know YYZ can be a pain...I do. But this whole Buffalo thing is not as convenient as once it was..