407 or 413 – How about both?

OUR READERS WRITE

 Anyone suggesting we don't need another main highway has not been in morning traffic trying to leave Caledon or Brampton lately.

The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) got nicknamed The Don Valley Parking Lot many years ago because traffic on it didn't move. Well, most funerals move faster than today's traffic on the 410 Southbound almost every morning, weekends included. And if you want to go East or West, most roads are one or two lanes each way and are also jammed with so much traffic.

And that is today.

Caledon is stating the current 80,000 residents will balloon to 300,000 by 2051. Do you not think these people will not need cars? It will take a decade to build the 413 if it ever gets started and that will almost be too late with today's jammed roadways and the resulting crashes we keep seeing.

I believe frustration from this gridlock traffic is partly to blame for the bad and aggressive driving we see.

So how about this: apparently, we own 53% of the 407. Encourage all trucks to use the 407 and discount their charges by 53%, making it cash neutral for those trucks, and keep the 413 for cars. Because so many major arteries are now so backed up, many commuters are driving thru quieter neighborhoods including school zones and this is just the beginning of much bigger and dangerous traffic problems if we don't try to be as proactive now as we can. 

Brian Perras
Caledon