User:Floydian/Ontario Provincial Highway Network

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"King's Highways" redirects here. For other uses, see King's Highway.
Provincial Highway Network
Ontario Highway 17 shieldOntario Highway 401 shieldOntario Highway 600 shieldOntario Highway 800 shield
Highway markers for King's Highway 17, King's Highway 401, Secondary Highway 600, and Tertiary Highway 800
System information
Maintained by the MTO
Length16,900 km[2][GIS 1] (10,500 mi)
FormedFebruary 26, 1920 (1920-02-26)[1]
Highway names
Types
  • King's Highway n (2–169)
  • Secondary Highway n (500–673)
  • Tertiary Road n (800–813)
System links

The Provincial Highway Network consists of all the roads in Ontario maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), including those designated as part of the King's Highway, secondary highways, and tertiary roads. Components of the system — comprising 16,900 kilometres (10,500 mi) of roads and 2,880 bridges[GIS 1] — range in scale from Highway 401, the busiest highway in North America, to unpaved forestry and mining access roads. The longest highway is nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) long, while the shortest is less than a kilometre. Some roads are unsigned highways, lacking signage to indicate their maintenance by the MTO; these may be remnants of highways that are still under provincial control whose designations were decommissioned, roadway segments left over from realignment projects, or proposed highway corridors.

Predecessors to today's modern highways include the foot trails and portages used by indigenous peoples in the time before European settlement. Shortly after the creation of the Province of Upper Canada in 1791, the new government under John Graves Simcoe built overland military roads to supplement water-based transportation, including Yonge Street and Dundas Street. At the time, road construction was under the control of the township and county governments. Local township roads were financed and constructed through a statute labor system that required landowners to make improvements in lieu of taxes. Private companies constructed corduroy and later plank roads and charged tolls in the second half of the 19th century. The rising popularity of the bicycle led to the formation of Ontario Good Roads Association, which advocated for the improvement of roads and recreation as the automobile rose to prominence.

By the early 20th century, the province had taken interest in road improvement and began funding it through counties. The increasing adoption of the automobile resulted in the formation of the Department of Public Highways of Ontario (DPHO) in 1916. The passing of the Canada Highways Act in 1920 resulted in the establishment of a provincial network of highways. The DPHO assigned internal highway numbers to roads in the system, and in 1925, the numbers were signposted along the roads and marked on maps. In 1930, provincial highways were renamed King's Highways and the familiar crown route markers created. The DPHO was also renamed the Department of Highways (DHO).

The 1930s saw several major depression relief projects built by manual labour, including the first inter-city divided highway in North America along the Middle Road, which would become the Queen Elizabeth Way in 1939. In 1937, the DHO merged with the Department of Northern Development, extending the highway network into the Canadian Shield. Significant traffic engineering and surveying through the war years, during which construction came to a near standstill, led to the planning and initial construction of controlled-access highways. The 400-series highways were built beginning in the late 1940s and numbered in 1952.

The vast majority of modern road infrastructure in Ontario was built throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. The cancellation of the controversial Spadina Expressway and the introduction of the Environmental Assessment Act in the 1970s resulted in a decline in new highway construction in the decades since. In the late 1990s, nearly 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) of provincial highways were transferred, or "downloaded" back to lower levels of government. Few new provincial highways have been built in the early years of the 21st century, although several major infrastructure projects including the Herb Gray Parkway and expansion of Highway 69 have proceeded.

The very first Ontario Road Map was published in 1923 (see also: rear side)

Naming, signage and regulations[edit]

In Ontario, all public roads are legally considered "highways" under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA), which sets forth regulations for traffic, or the "rules of the road".[3] The Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act (PTHIA) sets forth the regulations concerning roads that are under the authority of the Province of Ontario. The act distinguishes and sets out the applicability of the HTA to provincial highways, which are designated as part of The King's Highway (primary), a secondary highway, or a tertiary road. Tertiary roads may also be designated as a resource road, allowing for vehicles otherwise prohibited from public roads. Industrial roads are privately owned routes with which the MTO has entered an agreement to improve or allow public access, and are not considered part of the provincial highway network.[4] The 407 ETR is likwise not considered part of the provincial highway network. While it is still subject to the rules set forth by the HTA, it is otherwise governed independently under the legislation of the Highway 407 Act.[5]

Speed limits on provincial highways are legislated by sections of the road, and vary between 50 km/h (30 mph) and 110 km/h (70 mph). Freeways, including the 400-series highways, are generally signed at 100 km/h (60 mph), although sections exist that are signed lower.[6][GIS 2] Three segments of freeway are part of an ongoing pilot project to test speed limits of 110 km/h in rural areas that are not subject to congestion. A fourth segment, located in Northern Ontario, was set to be announced in 2020, but has been delayed since.[7]

Marker design[edit]

This marker assembly at an intersection with Highway 6 features junction crowns, and trailblazers directing traffic to several nearby 400-series highways

Ontario uses two distinct shapes of signage to mark the King's Highways. Confirmation markers, or reassurance markers, are utilised along the designated road to confirm (near intersections) or reassure (elsewhere) drivers that they are on the correct route. The markers, known eponymously as shields, feature the route number within an outline in the shape of a shield, topped by a St Edward's Crown. In other cases, particularly when denoting the designation of an intersecting numbered road, a crown marker is used, featuring the route number within an outline of the St Edwards Crown. For secondary highways, the route number is within an outline of an isosceles trapezoid, while tertiary roads place the number within an outline of a rectangle. When these markers appear along or at an intersection with the indicated highway, they feature black text on a reflective white background. There are two exceptions to this: The QEW, which features blue text on a reflective yellow background; and toll highways, which feature white text on a reflective blue background. Signs prior to 1993 had the words "The King's Highway" below the crown, but current versions have the words removed.[8]

In addition to regular highway markers, there are trailblazers, which indicate a route towards that highway. These are the same shape as their corresponding highway marker. Trailblazers for the King's Highway feature white text on a reflective green background, with the exception of trailblazers for the QEW, which feature yellow text on a reflective blue background. For secondary highways, trailblazers simply add the word "TO" above the route number.[8]

Since August 2004, "Highway of Heroes" shields featuring a diagram of a poppy have been posted along Highway 401 between Toronto and CFB Trenton. These were erected to honour fallen Canadian soldiers, whose bodies were repatriated from Afghanistan in funeral convoys along that stretch of the highway.[9]

A King's Highway junction shield
A blue-on-yellow QEW reassurance marker
A King's Highway toll route shield with toll tab
A trailblazer shield
Queen Elizabeth Way trailblazer
Highway of Heroes shield
A 407 Express Toll Route (407 ETR) shield
407 ETR trailblazer


Classification[edit]

Ontario has several distinct classes of highways:

The King's Highway[edit]

Reassurance markers for the QEW and Highway 403 concurrency

The King's Highway is the primary highway network of Ontario, and constitutes the majority of the principal inter-urban roadways in the province. As a whole, it is referred to in the singular form as opposed to as a group of its parts (i.e. "the King's Highway", not "the King's Highways").[4][6] Individual highways are known as "part of the King's Highway" or "the King's Highway known as n".[6] However, in common parlance they are simply referred to as "Highway n".[10] Ontario highways ranks fourth in North America for fatality rates, with 0.61 fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers in 2017.[11]

The 400-series highways and the QEW form the backbone of the King's Highway, with other routes numbered from 2 to 148.[12] The Ministry of Transportation never designated a Highway 1.[13] Some highway numbers are suffixed with a letter A ("alternate route"),[14] B ("business route"),[15] or N ("new route").[16] In the past, there have also been routes with C and S ("scenic route") suffixes.[17][18] The entire King's Highway network is fully paved.[14] The term "the King's Highway" was first adopted in place of "provincial highway" in 1930, and signs similar to the current design replaced the previous triangular signs at that time.[19][20] Some legislative acts refer to roads that are under the jurisdiction of the province as "provincial highways".[21]

400-series[edit]

Main article: 400-series highways

The 400-series highways are a network of controlled-access highways throughout the southern portion of Ontario, forming a special subset of the provincial highway network. They are analogous to the Interstate Highway System in the United States or the Autoroute system of neighbouring Quebec, and are regulated by the MTO.[22] The 400-series designations were introduced in 1952, although Ontario had been constructing divided highways for two decades prior.[23] Initially, only Highways 400, 401 and 402 were numbered; other designations followed in the subsequent decades.[24]

While older freeways have some lapses in safety features, contemporary 400-series highways have design speeds of 130 km/h (81 mph), speed limits of 100 km/h (62 mph), various collision avoidance and traffic management systems, and several design standards adopted throughout North America.[25] Of note are the Ontario Tall Wall median barrier and the Parclo A-4 interchange design, the latter which became standard in the design for the widening of Highway 401 through Toronto in 1962. The Institute of Traffic Engineers subsequently recommended this design to replace the cloverleaf interchange throughout North America.[26][27]

A typical secondary highway with route marker

Secondary[edit]

Secondary highways exist solely within the districts of Northern Ontario that lack a county road system, to which they are analogous. The sole exception to this is Highway 537 in Greater Sudbury. They generally serve to connect remote communities to the King's Highway, or to interconnect the King's Highway. A few secondary highways remain gravel-surfaced, although most have been paved.[14] The speed limit on nearly all of these routes is 80 km/h (50 mph), although Highway 655 is posted at 90 km/h (55 mph).[6]

The Secondary Highway system was introduced in 1956 to service regions in Northern and Central Ontario, though it once included a route as far south as Lake Ontario. Many routes that would become secondary highways were already maintained by the province as development roads prior to being designated.[28][29] Since 1998, none have existed south of the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing.[30] Secondary highways are numbered in the 500s and 600s, with existing highways numbered between 502 and 673.[12][28]

Tertiary[edit]

Tertiary roads are remote routes entirely within Northern Ontario that provide access to resources (e.g. mining and forestry). Tertiary roads are numbered in the 800s, with the five existing highways numbered between 802 and 811. Most of these roads are gravel-surfaced and of low-standard. The speed limit on these routes is 80 km/h (50 mph), although design standards generally prevent such.[14][31] Unlike other roads in the Provincial Highway Network, the MTO is not responsible for winter maintenance nor liable for damage incurred as a result of using these routes.[4] The MTO introduced the Tertiary Road system in 1962. With the exception of Highway 802, none end in settlements.

Trans-Canada[edit]

A Trans-Canada Highway marker mounted under a Highway 400 shield

The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) forms several major routes across Canada. The provincial governments are entirely responsible for signage and maintenance of the routes, except through National Parks. It is signed with a distinctive white maple leaf on a reflective green background used throughout Canada, which is placed below or beside the provincial marker in Ontario. While other provinces generally place a highway number within the maple leaf of the TCH marker, Ontario either leaves it blank, or inserts a name instead; these include the Central Ontario Route, Georgian Bay Route, Lake Superior Route, Northern Ontario Route and Ottawa Valley Route.

Several portions of the King's Highway are designated as part of the Trans-Canada Highway within Ontario, including:

Others[edit]

In addition to these classes of highways, the MTO maintains other roads, such as resource roads or industrial roads, that are of strategic importance to the provincial government. These roads are designated with 7000-series numbers for internal inventory purposes, though they are not publicly marked as such. They are often, but not always, former highway segments which were decommissioned as a King's Highway, but remain important as connecting routes to communities or other highways in areas without municipal governance.[14]

There were formerly several designated Ontario Tourist Routes that were located throughout the entire province.[32] However, beginning in February 1997, Tourism-Oriented Directional Signs (TODS) began to appear on highways.[33] Tourist Routes no longer appeared on maps after 1998.[30]

History[edit]

Transfers[edit]

As part of a series of budget cuts initiated by premier Mike Harris under his Common Sense Revolution platform in 1995, numerous highways deemed to no longer be of significance to the provincial network were decommissioned and responsibility for the routes transferred to lower levels of government, a process referred to as downloading. Several thousand kilometres of provincially maintained highways were transfered to the various municipalities in which they are located. These transfers were performed under the reasoning that they served a mostly local function, as a cost-saving measure and as part of a broader exchange of responsibilities between the province and its municipalities.

On April 1, 1997, 1,767.6 kilometres (1,098.3 mi) of highways were removed from the King's Highway system.[34] This was followed by the removal of 3,211.1 kilometres (1,995.3 mi) on January 1, 1998,[35] for a total of 4,978.7 kilometres (3,093.6 mi).

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Highways in Ontario.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Shragge, John; Bagnato, Sharon (1984). From Footpaths to Freeways. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Historical Committee. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-0-7743-9388-1.
  2. ^ How we clear Ontario’s highways in winter
  3. ^ "Highway Traffic Act; R.S.O. 1990, Chapter H.8, s. 1". e-Laws. Government of Ontario. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act; R.S.O. 1990, Chapter P.50, parts I–VI". e-Laws. Government of Ontario. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  5. ^ {{cite web | title = Highway 407 Act; S.O. 1998, Chapter 28, s. 12 | website = e-Laws | publisher = Government of Ontario | url = https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/98h28#BK13 | access-date = March 8, 2021}
  6. ^ a b c d "Speed Limits; R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 619, s. 1; O. Reg. 319/19, s. 1". e-Laws. Government of Ontario. Retrieved March 8, 2021. Cite error: The named reference "speed-limits" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Ontario's Increased Speed Limit Pilot Finds Wide Public Support". Government of Ontario. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (May 2010). Ontario Traffic Manual, Book 8, Volume 1 - Guide and Information Signs (PDF). Vol. 1. Government of Ontario. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "Stretch of 401 to be renamed 'Highway of Heroes'". CTV Toronto. August 24, 2007. Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  10. ^ "Traveller Road Information Portal". Ontario 511. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Road Safety Policy Office - Vehicles (2017). "Overview". Ontario Road Safety Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Government of Ontario. p. 21. ISSN 1710-2480. Retrieved March 7, 2021. {{cite report}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference km was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Provincial Highways Now Being Numbered". The Canadian Engineer. 49 (8). Monetary Times Print: 246. August 25, 1925. Numbering of the various provincial highways in Ontario has been commenced by the Department of Public Highways. Resident engineers are now receiving metal numbers to be placed on poles along the provincial highways. These numbers will also be placed on poles throughout cities, towns and villages, and motorists should then have no trouble in finding their way in and out of urban municipalities. Road designations from "2" to "17" have already been alloted...
  14. ^ a b c d e IBI Group (November 2016). Draft Technical Backgrounder: Highways and Roads (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. p. 8. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Alternate Highway 17 Starts West End Fight". The Ottawa Citizen. Vol. 123, no. 903. September 22, 1965. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ MMM Group (April 9, 2014). Highway 7 New Kitchener to Guelph, 18 km, G.W.P. 408-88-00 – Initial Design Report (2014) (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Lewis, Malcolm R. (September 1964). A Geographical Study of Bertie Township (Thesis). McMaster University. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "A Forest of Highway Signs". The Ottawa Journal. September 21, 1948. p. 4. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Don W. Thompson (1969). Men and Meridians: The History of Surveying and Mapping in Canada. Vol. Volume 3: 1917 to 1947. Canadian Government Publishing Centre. p. 141. ISBN 0-660-00359-7. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  20. ^ Canadian Press (March 20, 1930). "Convicted Drivers may be Compelled to Take Insurance". The Gazette. Vol. 159, no. 68. Montreal. p. 21. Retrieved March 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Municipal Act, 2001; SO 2001, c. 25". e-Laws. Government of Ontario. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  22. ^ Rzeznikiewiz, Damian; Tamim, Hala; Macpherson, Alison K. (December 28, 2012). "Risk of Death in Crashes on Ontario's Highways". BMC Public Health. 12: 1125. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-1125. PMC 3543722. PMID 23273001.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  23. ^ "Hopes to Improve Roads". The Gazette. Montreal. February 18, 1936. p. 14. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  24. ^ Shragge, John G. (2007). "Highway 401: The Story". Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  25. ^ Revie, Nancy (September 19, 2005). "An Expressway in Name Only". The Guelph Mercury. p. A9.
  26. ^ Proceedings ... Annual Meeting (Report). Institute of Traffic Engineers. 1962. pp. 100–103.
  27. ^ "Partial Cloverleaf Interchange (Parclo)". The Canadian Design Resource. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  28. ^ a b "Ontario Secondary Roads Now Designated 500, 600". Vol. 112, no. 33, 119. The Globe and Mail. February 4, 1956. p. 4. Two new Ontario road numbers appear on the province's 1956 official road map which will be ready for distribution next week. The new numbers are the 500 and 600 series and designate hundreds of miles of secondary roads which are wholly maintained by the Highways Department. More than 100 secondary roads will have their own numbers and signs this year. All of these secondary roads were taken into the province's main highways system because they form important connecting links with the King's Highways
  29. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by C.P. Robins. Ontario Department of Highways. 1957. §§ R38–39.
  30. ^ a b Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Geomatics Office. Ministry of Transportation. 1999. Retrieved March 9, 2021 – via Archives of Ontario. Cite error: The named reference "1999 map" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference speed limits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Surveys and Mapping Section. Ministry of Transportation. 1998. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  33. ^ Antler, Jim (1997). "New Tourism Sign System Unveiled". The Outfitter. No. March/April. Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario. pp. 15–18. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  34. ^ Highway Transfers List (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. April 1, 1997.
  35. ^ Highway Transfers List - "Who Does What" (Report). Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. June 20, 2001.

GIS datasets[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Geomatics Office; Land Information Ontario (December 10, 2020). "Ontario Road Network - Ontario Provincial Highways". ArcGIS.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  2. ^ Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Geomatics Office; Land Information Ontario (May 7, 2020). "Speed Limits in Ontario". ArcGIS.com. Retrieved March 8, 2021.

External links[edit]


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