Posts Tagged ‘Ontario’
The theory is this: in 1998, the province downgraded Highway 7 from a provincial highway to a regional road for a number of reasons, including the opening of the 407 (aka my favourite thing ever, except for the cost).
More traffic lights were added, the speed limit was lowered – but the “highway” moniker was kept. Now, York Region is building a bunch of junk (okay, not junk – bus lanes, bike lanes, highrises, etc) along Highway 7, and officials think the word “highway” doesn’t match anymore.
So they’re holding a contest to rename it.
It’s going to cost more than $250,000.
Yes, a quarter of a million to rename a small piece of a long highway that runs through Richmond Hill, Markham, and Vaughan – but will still be called “Highway 7” in other areas.
And, honestly – who actually thinks people will refer to Highway 7– sorry, [INSERT NEW NAME HERE] as it’s new name? The Skydome became the Rogers Center in 2005, and really, who calls it the “Rogers Center” besides newscasters, sports officials and, uh, Rogers?
According to news reports, a few contenders include Avenue 7, Gridlock Way, and Bottleneck Boulevard.
Wait, Avenue 7?
Yes, there’s a good idea – lets waste TWO HUNDERD AND FIFTY THOUSAND dollars to change the word “highway” to “avenue”.
Face palm.
Oh, and did I mention it’s already been dubbed “York Regional Road 7″ by the region?
Double face palm.
So, why is this (apparently) a good idea?
Well, according to some guy who swims in hundred dollar bills Steven Kemp, director of traffic management with York Region, “Highway 7 will not be the road that people use to travel through the region. It’s the place that people will go.”
Which, obviously, warrants spending $250,000 on a name change.
Guess I’ll need to buy new road maps.
Impaired drivers in Ontario will be facing harsher penalties beginning tomorrow.
Previously, drivers with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) between 0.05 and 0.08 had their license suspended for only 12 hours – about the same amount of time it would probably take you to sleep off the night’s festivities.
Starting May 1st however, if you blow a 0.5 or higher – you could be facing some pretty hefty penalties.
Here’s a breakdown of the new legislation:
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FORMER LAW All Offenses
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NEW LAW First Offence
Second Offense
Third Offense
Subsequent Offenses
**At the offenders expense. Alternatively, you can forgo installation, and instead have your licence suspended for the 6 month period |
Yikes! According to The Original Blood Alcohol Calculator, if I have 2 glasses of wine with dinner (assuming dinner is roughly 1 1/2 hours long), my BAC will be 0.04 – and dangerously close to the first level offense.
Take note of this, too: if you get nabbed by Police, there’s nothing you can do; A lawyer won’t be able to stop your license from being suspended, and each suspension will be recorded.
According to a survey conducted by Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators just 4 years ago, only half of the respondents knew their province had a lower alcohol limit at which point police can suspend driving privileges. Only 6% of respondants actually knew what the limit was.
The new changes to the impaired driving law in Ontario have been advertised, marketed, and advertised again over the past few months. I can’t drive down the 401 without seeing a glaring digital sign announcing “new legislation” take effect May 1.
The Canadian Law remains the same, however – if you blow over 0.08, you’ll be facing criminal charges and penalties.
Premiere Dalton McGuinty was in Ottawa today to discuss an investment in a new “surveillance” program – designed to track information about Ontario’s children from an early age.
The program will begin collecting information about babies approximately a month before birth, and will continue to observe and track their growth until they are at least five months old.
According to McGuinty, the information gathered will be collected in a database that will help the province better deploy its resources.
For instance, if a certain community has higher than average birth weights, it will indicate that external factors – such as the environment – need to be examined closely.
Ontario is the first province to implement such a program.
It’s an interesting concept – and I think one that could be beneficial long-term – but it will be just that: long term. I have to question investing so much money (and while I missed the actual amount – it was a lot) into such a program with the economy the way it is.
