Hon. Donna Cansfield addresses media on HOV Lanes in Ontario

RHCOC CEO Leslie Walker extends Smart Commute 404-7 greetings

Ms. Walker addresses the Media

Greater Toronto Transportation Authority Chair Robert MacIsaac stands at left with Ms. Walker at podium

MS. WALKER'S ADDRESS Good Morning! My name is Leslie Walker and I am the CEO of the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce. Along with my counterpart Keith Bray, CEO of the Markham Board of Trade, we jointly operate the Smart Commute 404-7 program in the Richmond Hill and Markham business community. I would like to thank Minister Cansfield, for inviting us here today to show our support for the Ministry of Transportation initiative to provide more sustainable transportation solutions to traffic congestion in the GTA. With the announcement of the plan for a future HOV network of lanes throughout the GTA, the Minister is clearly identifying the need to make more efficient use of the highway network by giving priority to moving people who take transit and carpool. HOV lanes provide commuters with the important incentives of saving time and having a more reliable commute.

In Richmond Hill and Markham, the business community has told us that Traffic Congestion is their #1 issue. Our business parks are in dense, developing, high tech, employment nodes and we recognize that the existing and future demands on the road network are growing. We also recognize that we cannot continue to widen roads and that we need to make the most efficient use of the infrastructure we have, such as building lanes for carpoolers and transit users. Our Smart Commute 404-7 Team is working with the business community to change consumer behavior and traditional ways of getting to and from work. We currently directly market to 1,800 Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce and Markham Board of Trade businesses, and now have over 80 businesses, representing 25,000 employees that are engaged in the Smart Commute program. IBM Canada, CAA, HSBC, Staples, and Sheraton Parkway Hotel North are just a few of the companies we are actively working with to implement Smart Commute programs that promote carpooling and transit use. What we have found in Richmond Hill and Markham is that carpooling has been of great interest to businesses and their employees. The H.O.V. lane on Highway 404 has proven to save both money and time for many employees working in the Hwy 7 and Hwy 404 business parks. Carpool Zone, which is a ride matching program for car-pooling, was launched by Smart Commute in Jan 2006. We now have approximately 1050 registered users in the 404-7 area, representing both home and work based users. Across the GTA there are over 5000 registered users. Those carpooling in the Richmond Hill and Markham areas alone have allowed us to reduce almost 60,000 vehicle kilometres of travel - and that’s 14 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reduced. Once again, I would like to thank Minister Cansfield for this great initiative. At Smart Commute 404-7 we know HOV lanes and carpooling does work and provides a real, sustainable, transportation solution to traffic congestion in Richmond Hill, Markham and the rest of the GTA.

	MEDIA RELEASES Innovative Plan To Increase Transit Use and Ease Congestion -  QUEEN'S PARK, May 24 /CNW/ -
	The McGuinty government's high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane plan will get more people carpooling and onto public transit, Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced today. "In the next 25 years we expect to see an increase of nearly two million vehicles on our roads," said Cansfield. "Our exciting and forward-thinking HOV network plan will help address this growth and move people and goods more efficiently now and for generations to come." HOV lanes are for use by buses and vehicles carrying more than one occupant. The lanes are intended to provide fast, reliable travel for HOV users at any time of the day - particularly during peak travel periods when other lanes can be slow and congested. The HOV lane network will get people moving. The province's plan includes a network of lanes spanning the Greater Golden Horseshoe to help ease congestion and offer faster, more reliable commute times to carpoolers and transit users. "We are rebuilding Ontario for tomorrow's success," said David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal. "Together with our partners, we are investing more than $30 billion to modernize public infrastructure and build for growth under our five-year ReNew Ontario investment strategy." The plan builds on the successful HOV lanes on parts of Highways 403 and 404. Phase 1, which is already underway, will see new HOV lanes on key highway corridors by 2011, including:  - A northbound HOV lane on Highway 404, north of Sheppard Avenue to Highway 7 northbound, that will open this summer - Queen Elizabeth Way between Burlington and Oakville - construction under way with additional work scheduled to start shortly - Highway 400 from Major Mackenzie Road north to King Side Road - Highway 427 north of Highway 409. Other phases include extending existing and planned HOV lanes on Highways 400, 403, 404 and the QEW. The timing and order of construction of future HOV lanes will depend on completion of design, and changes in traffic, population and employment growth. All HOV projects are subject to environmental approvals. "HOV lanes on Highways 403 and 404 are getting people moving and saving people time," said Monte Kwinter, MPP for York Centre. "Adding HOV lanes to our highways will mean more commuters will enjoy a more reliable commute." To support carpooling and public transit use, the government will also expand the number of parking spaces available for carpoolers and transit users as the HOV network develops. Currently, the ministry operates 50 carpool lots close to highway interchanges in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, with more than 5,000 parking spaces. "HOV lanes are a part of the McGuinty government's plan to keep people and goods moving," added Cansfield. "By investing in reliable and sustainable infrastructure that makes better use of Ontario highways, we are building stronger, healthier communities." The ministry is seeking public comment on the HOV Lane Network Plan. Copies of the plan can be viewed at Ontario Government Information Centres and can be accessed from the Environmental Bill of Rights website - www.ebr.gov.on.ca. The plan can also be accessed online at www.ontario.ca/hov or by calling 905-704-2213. Disponible en français << www.mto.gov.on.ca Backgrounder ------------------------------------------------------------------------- McGUINTY GOVERNMENT'S HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (HOV) LANE NETWORK PLAN The HOV Lane Network Plan represents the McGuinty government's vision for establishing a connected network of HOV lanes in the Greater Golden Horseshoe by 2031. This extensive network of HOV lanes will provide a tremendous incentive for commuters to carpool or take transit and help ease congestion to keep people and goods moving. Phase 1: Near-Term HOV Lane Projects (2007-2011)  This phase includes existing HOV lanes on Highways 403 and 404 and new HOV lanes in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Funding for these projects has been confirmed. These projects are identified in the Province's Southern Ontario Highways Program. HOV lanes included in phase 1 are: - Northbound Highway 404 is currently under construction. - HOV lanes on Highway 400 are currently being designed with construction scheduled to begin in 2008. - The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), where construction is already underway to widen existing bridges to accommodate the new HOV lanes. MTO will also study the possibility of including HOV lanes on Highway 427 and will consider transit options, such as bus bypass shoulders. Phase 2: Growing the Corridors, Medium-Term HOV Lane Priorities (2011-2016)  The focus of phase 2 is to expand the HOV corridors by building on existing HOV lanes. Medium term projects outlined in this phase involve extending the HOV lanes on Highways 400 and 404 farther north and adding lanes to other key sections such as Highway 401 in Peel Region. Phase 3: Creating the Network, Longer-Term HOV Additions (2017+)  Phase 3 is the final stage in developing the network. This longer-term vision includes adding HOV lanes on important highway corridors. This stage provides opportunities to connect new HOV lanes with those already built to form an integrated network across the region. An efficiently connected network will provide fast and reliable travel for carpools and transit vehicles. Disponible en français www.mto.gov.on.ca
	TORONTO STAR More lanes for highways - May 24, 2007 01:40 PM Tess Kalinowski Staff Reporter
	Queen's Park has unveiled a long-term plan that will put carpooling lanes on virtually all provincial highways in the Toronto region. Ontario already has High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Highway 403 and the 404, and is building them on the QEW and Highway 427by 2011. But yesterday it unveiled a third, 2017-and-beyond phase to its HOV strategy that would interconnect existing HOV lanes and extend them into the growing Peel, Durham, Halton and York Regions. "HOV lanes on our highways are a triumphant success," Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield told reporters at the government's Downsview traffic operations centre this morning. (Thurs.) The southbound Highway 404 lanes that extend from Highway 7 to the 401 already shave 17 minutes off that 11-kilometre stretch, she said. A network of HOV lanes is part of a "holistic" transportation plan that also supports greater use of public transit, encouraging more people to share a ride or take the bus because they'll reach their destination faster, she said. Citing the need to accommodate another two million vehicles in the Toronto area in the next 25 years, Cansfield also announced the government will expand carpool parking lots so more commuters can connect to transit.

680 NEWS More HOV lanes on Ontario's highways - Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 02:23 PM By: Anne Winstanley Toronto -

There will be more High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Ontario's highways this summer, and within the next few years. Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield said there will be nearly two million more cars on provincial roads in the next 25 years. In order to accommodate more drivers and keep traffic at a minimum, Cansfield said the plan is to have HOV lanes on nearly every 400 series highway in southern Ontario's greater golden horseshoe area by 2031. "Our existing highways have the potential to move people and goods more quickly and more efficiently and HOV lanes can help to achieve this goal," Cansfield said. Construction on the QEW between Oakville and Burlington has already begun and the province may extend HOV lanes on the 400 and the 404 over the next decade, they are also planned for parts of the 427. The first new HOV lanes on the 404, North of the 401, opens this summer. To drive in HOV lanes, the vehicle must have at least two people in them, motorists without passengers who are caught in these lanes face fines of $110 and three demerit points. Ontario to add more HOV lanes CANADIAN PRESS - posted by AUTONET.CA  May 24, 2007 TORONTO — The number of high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the province’s 400-series highways will expand under a government plan. Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield announced today the northbound high-occupancy lane on Highway 404, north of Highway 401, will open this summer, and more are in the works. Construction to add HOV lanes on the Queen Elizabeth Way between Oakville and Burlington is also underway. She says province may extend HOV lanes on Highways 400 and 404 over the next decade. HOV lanes may also be added to parts of Highways 427 and other 400-series highways. Cansfield says nearly every 400-series highway in southern Ontario’s greater Golden Horseshoe area could have a high-occupancy lane by 2031. The lanes are restricted to vehicles carrying at least two occupants. Motorists without passengers who are caught using the lanes face fines of $110 and three demerit points. The province first opened the high-occupancy lanes on sections of Highways 403 and 404 in December 2005. Cansfield says there will be an increase of nearly two million vehicles on Ontario roads in the next 25 years. CP24 CITY NEWS - New 400 HOV Lane Network Could Take 25 Years To Build - Thursday May 24, 2007 They get longer every day - those endless lines you sit in, stew in and swear at - as you survive the daily commute in GTA traffic. And now the province is coming to your rescue - sort of - by extending and joining all of its successful high occupancy vehicle lanes network across every all the 400-series highways. But there's a catch: many of them won't be ready for years. The idea of the so-called HOV lanes is simple: reward drivers of cars filled with several people by giving them the ability to get into a traffic lane that moves faster than everyone else. For Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield, it's a project that's long overdue. "Over the next 25 years it is estimated that we will see an increase of nearly two million vehicles on our roads in the GTA and the surrounding areas," she predicts. The plan would connect all 400 series HOV lanes in the province, hopefully letting you fly through the highways faster than all those other motorists who didn't give anyone a lift. But the entire grid won't be finished for at least 25 years. That's way too late for drivers like Sister Bernadette Palmer. "Sometimes it is so backed up that traffic is moving inch by inch," she complains. "They've known traffic is heavy all these years and they should have been planning this way, way back." The first new HOV lane could open in a few weeks. The last? Well, some of us won't still be driving anywhere by the time it's ready. Where are the lanes?