TILBURY – Six sections of provincial highways, including two in our region, will have the speed limit permanently raised to 110 km/h, beginning April 22.
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced the speed limit increase Tuesday during a press conference at the Tilbury ONroute on Highway 401.
“On our roads, we know how important it is that families traveling to get their kids to sporting events and businesses looking to transport their goods can get where they need to go more quickly and safely,” Mulroney said.
A 40-kilometre section of 401 between Tilbury and Windsor will have the speed limit increased from 100 km/h. On Highway 402 between London and Sarnia, which has been a pilot project for the speed limit increase, it becomes permanent.
Other section of road ways where the speed limit increase goes into effect includes:
- The 32 km stretch of Queen Elizabeth Way from Hamilton to St. Catharines
- The 102 km of Highway 417 from Ottawa to the Ontario-Quebec border
- Another 37 km section of Highway 417 from Kanata to Arnprior
- Highway 404 from Newmarket to Woodbine, spanning 10 miles
The changes align Ontario with six other jurisdictions, including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that have posted speed limits of 110 km/h.
Mulroney said the sections of highway have been “carefully chosen” for speed limit increases “based on several factors including the ability to accommodate higher speed limits.”
She said the MTO has collected ‘significant data” on traffic flows and traffic speeds during the pilot project that began in 2019.
“What they observed was that traffic speeds only increased a little bit and there was no . . . increase in collisions,” Mulroney said. “We believe what we’re doing is responsible and we can increase speed limits in a safe manner.”
When asked if OPP have expressed any concerns regarding the increased speed limit, the minister said, “All along the way we have been working with law enforcement and we’re going to continue to do that as we move forward with this plan.”
She repeated her answer when asked, again, if concerns have been raised by the OPP.
Chatham-Kent resident Alysson Storey, a driving force behind the Build the Barrier campaign to have concrete medians installed on Highway 401 to protect against cross-median crashes, said an increase in speed limits reinforces the need for an impenetrable concrete median barrier between lanes of oncoming traffic.
“We do hope any increased risk in higher speed limits is mitigated by the current safety infrastructure already in place between Tilbury and Windsor, in the three lanes, paved shoulders, and most importantly, a concrete median barrier,” she said.
Storey noted it is also necessary to consider the safety of on ramps, off-ramps, and cloverleafs, since higher speeds require longer acceleration and deceleration lanes.
Mulroney said the increased speed limit doesn’t mean the speed limiter mandate to keep transport trucks at a top speed of 105 km/h will change.
As for the speed limit being increased some day on all sections of 400 series highways, Mulroney said the province received positive feedback during the pilot portion of the initiative “so we will certainly explore extending it to other sections of highways across the province.”
With rising gas prices, Mulroney was asked about drivers who may not want to drive faster in order to conserve fuel.
“If they want to cruise at a 100 km/h or a 105 (km/h) that’s fine,” she said.