Traffic Question

[N1Hawk]

Hey All,

I will be traveling to the Peace Bridge on Monday Sept 29th, 2008 around 8am from Ajax, Ontario. Has anyone ever traveled this route before and is there a lot of traffic? I need to get down to the peace bridge in a good amount of time as i'm heading down to Ohio and need to be there before 4pm Eastern for my hotel. Any Suggestions, tips, help like what lanes to use etc?

[N1Hawk]

Bump!

Any Suggestions?:arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu:

[gherikill]

If you leave a 8am on a Monday you will be driving straight through rush hour traffic on the 401 and or DVP/Gardiner. I would suggest you either leave earlier or later.

[fastlayne]

It might be worth the $20-25 to hook up with the 407 in the east and take it all the way to Burlington. (Maybe some RFDers can comment on the congestion on the 407 during rush hour.)

[Pete_Coach]

Call the hotel, give them your credit card number and they guarantee the room for you no matter what time you arrive. You will be charged on your card for the room if you don't show up though.

[N1Hawk]

problem is i don't own a CC and they said they could hold it for me until 4pm or i would have to reserve later when i get there hopefully it can be done? I'm hoping to avoid traffic so any other tips let me know!

[Code85]

You'll hit traffic big time. If you can leave the night before =)

[N1Hawk]

You'll hit traffic big time. If you can leave the night before =)

Wish I could Hotel is booked from Sept 29th to Oct 3rd with no CC so i have to be there before 4pm on the 29th or my hotel disappears!

[Piro21]

Leave earlier before morning rush hour starts, like 4 or 5 am instead of 8. You might hit rush hour traffic in the States, too, so you could even leave the night before.

[N1Hawk]

If you leave a 8am on a Monday you will be driving straight through rush hour traffic on the 401 and or DVP/Gardiner. I would suggest you either leave earlier or later.

How long is the wait in traffic from the 401 and or DVP until the crowd starts to move again? Am I expecting a 3-4 hour wait in Traffic? When I hit the QEW will I be clear or will it be slow all the way to the Peace Bridge?

[N1Hawk]

Bump Up for help! :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu:

[N1Hawk]

:arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :arrowu: :

[Piro21]

I've left on a Monday before to drop a friend off at the Buffalo airport before, and I left at around 5 am since he needed to be there for 8:30. I got hung up a bit around St Catharines, but that's partially because there was construction that narrowed the QEW down to one lane, which had something like a 50kph limit since it ran right through the middle of the city. We had to wait about half an hour at the border crossing, but that's because I picked a slow line where the US customs agent was training a new person. We reached on time, but this is Buffalo, maybe a 20 minute drive from the border. If you're going to Ohio and need to be there before 4 pm I suggest you leave a bit earlier than 8 am.

That was my first time in the US other than when I flew to Miami, so I don't know how long it takes to drive to Ohio from the border, but if you NEED to be at the hotel before 4 giving yourself more time than necessary is recommended. You can always go shopping or take in the sights if you arrive early.

EDIT: I live in western Mississauga, leaving from Ajax is going to take around an extra hour for you with clear highways. Leaving at 8 is going to put you right at the heart of rush hour in Toronto, and will probably add at least an extra hour to your trip and make you hate yourself and everyone around you. Leave early, be calm. The quickest route would probably be 401 -> DVP -> QEW all the way. If you leave around 5 you can probably clear Burlington by 7ish, which is when traffic really starts to pick up.

[MacGyver]

Leaving at 5am is a good idea. You never know when there might be an accident that could add hours to your travel time. For example, on Friday morning there was a truck fire on the 401 westbound at Neilson and it royally screwed up traffic in both the Express and Collectors. You'll be more relaxed if you know you'll reach your destination in good time, especially if you're not completely familiar with the route.

The fastest route will be 401 to the 403. Don't take the DVP unless you have a reason to go downtown. Generally traffic will let up once you get past the 400 and more so past the airport. It should be smooth sailing from there as you'll be going mostly against the flow of traffic. Stay tuned to 680 News for traffic reports and be prepared to adjust your route. Sometimes the QEW westbound through Oakville gets jammed in the morning but you can bypass it by taking the 407 where it meets the 403 in Mississauga.

click here for route map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=HWY-401+E&daddr=HWY-403+W+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&geocode=FUYVnQIdcPBJ-w%3BFWwRmQIdcnpA-w%3BFcy7jgIdFLlL-w&mra=mr&mrcr=0&via=1&sll=43.39507,-79.120789&sspn=1.37707,2.471924&ie=UTF8&z=9)

[ES_Revenge]

On a Monday?

You shouldn't have any traffic problems. In fact I went on a Saturday, over the Rainbow Bridge, a couple weeks ago and averaged71mph (~120km/h) from my house to Niagara Falls ON (not including the bridge/crossing but there wasn't much of a line there), according to the telltale in the car. No I'm not joking it was that clear. There was really no traffic at all. It was rainy/bad weather though so maybe why people didn't decide to go across.

Go on some weekends (particularly long weekends) and you'd be screwed but Monday? I don't think you'll have any traffic probs.

[N1Hawk]

Thanks for your advice all, you have made me think about leaving around 6:30am just in case!

[dealmeone]

I used to go down that way every week last year for school and the busiest part was getting through Toronto during rush hour. The bridge itself was not that busy. The Peace Bridge was always a better bet than either Lewiston or Rainbow. Just past St. Catherines there is a large road sign with a toll free phone number for bridge information, but I always found the Peace Bridge to be the most peaceful. :)

[N1Hawk]

yes getting through Toronto seems like the hard part when i get past the 400 i should be ok from what my dad says!

[gherikill]

If you are driving through rush hour, add an hour to your commute. Once you pass Toronto it will be smooth sailing and you can make up the time if you speed.:cheesygri