GTA FREEWAY HOV NETWORK STUDY

This paper was presented at the 'Traffic management strategies for the future' session. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (The Ministry) is focused on the preservation, optimization, and selective expansion of their highway system to ensure a safe driving environment for motorists in the Province. In keeping with this, the Ministry recently initiated a study to assess the potential demand and feasibility, to better understand the potential and to develop strategies for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on freeways in the Greater Toronto Area. This paper presents the findings and conclusions of the GTA Freeway HOV Network Assessment Study. The Ministry is currently developing an overall high occupancy vehicle (HOV) strategy as one measure to manage existing and future travel demands in the Greater Toronto Area. HOV lanes have been shown to increase corridor mobility by moving more people in a given number of vehicles on freeway and arterial networks. In this context, MTO has undertaken a sequential series of related HOV studies as a precursor to the Network Assessment Study. A new transportation demand methodology was developed to provide defensible opening day and horizon year HOV projections using a top down/bottom up approach. This methodology considered differential growth rates, highway configuration, transit opportunities, and the influence of upstream/downstream HOV links on specific corridors, as the components of the overall HOV system cam online. A strategy for the introduction of freeway HOV in the GTA considered the potential HOV demand, physical fit opportunities, benefit/cost, and system phasing. While the Ministry has generally focused on buffer separated concurrent HOV lanes adjacent to the median to date, consideration was also given to other configurations to solve unique economic and/or physical constraints, including one-way reversibles, high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, and HOT ramps. Three start up scenarios were developed as part of the overall HOV strategy. The introduction of freeway HOV lanes will support the Ontario Government's continued initiative to provide safe and efficient highways in the country's most important economic region. For the covering abstract of this conference see IRRD number E200820. (A)