Yesterday during the commute home, there was a traffic accident and investigation that blocked three lanes of the express past the 400. I heard about it on the radio so I exited the express at Yonge into the slightly-faster collectors. As I moved slowly in the collectors’, I saw a lot of cars transfer into the express lanes – don’t these people listen to the traffic reports? They were trading instant gratification for four-lanes-merging-into-one!
On optimal and average days, the 401 is the fastest route for me since my average speed is higher than if there were traffic lights. But it’s a day like yesterday which requires me to scan the radio stations for a traffic report as soon as I get into the car everday (and potentially use alternates). I realize that this information must be available in a more accessible format since radio and TV stations have access to it, so I got around to looking for it. Like other government information, it’s not the easiest to find; but there are some great resources. The COMPASS system covers 401, 403, QEW and parts of the 404 and 400. There are cameras every few kilometers, and the images are available overlayed onto a Google Map. Even more useful (although it doesn’t cover the 401/404 interchange) is the 401 traffic flow map, so you’ll know when to transfer. This page will be something I will check every day before I leave work from now on!
Although in the end yesterday, the joke was on me because I stayed in the collectors past the 400, even though a sign said that the express was moving faster than collectors. How could the express lanes move faster than the collectors, when the accident was still ahead in the express? Turns out the accident had cleared.
What would make the COMPASS system even better is if it would push information to us through cellphones, rather than just the signs (that, and I need to have more trust in the system). There is a site out there that seems to do that, but it looks like a template site that just parses the information from the government site (my welcome email mentioned . Too bad I can’t fully customize my paths such as saying that I only want eastbound information in the morning, and westbound at night.
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