110 km/h coming to 3 Ontario highways starting September

Ontario's transportation minister announced on Friday three pilot projects that will see speed limits on provincial highways in southernOntario increase to 110 km/h, a move that has drawn both applause and concern from experts.

The announcement was made by Transportation Minister Jeff Yureknear Hwy. 402 and Longwoods Road, in a carpool lot, as cars and trucks whizzed nearby.

Yurek said the following highways will be part of the pilot project starting in mid-September:

• Highway 402 from London to Sarnia.
• The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) from St. Catharines to Hamilton.
• Highway 417 from Ottawa/Gloucester to Ontario/Quebec border.

The province is also looking for a suitable highway to pilot higher speeds in Northern Ontario.

"Safety is the government's No.1 priority and each pilot location was carefully chosen based on a number of factors, including its ability to accommodate higher speed limits," said Yurek

He notesthe province will hold a series of public consultations starting in the next few weeks.

The move is a change from the policy of the previous provincial government, which in 2012 rejected a campaign to raise speed limits to 120 or 130 km/h. At the time, then-transportation minister Bob Chiarelli said he made the callbecause speed is a factor in 20 per cent of fatal crashes in Ontario.

Speeding crackdown

At the roadside announcement, concerns around safety were answered with a promise to improve signage and messaging on highways.

Yurekwants street-racing penaltiesto still apply to drivers caught doing 150 km/h or more, pending an amendment to legislation.

Right now, the 400-series highways, including Hwy. 401, 402, 403 and 417, as well as the Queen Elizabeth Way, have posted limits of 100 km/h. Other provincial highways range between 80 and 90 km/h.

Speed limits haven't been reviewed in the province since the 1970s. They used to be about 110 km/h but were lowered in 1975 because of the oil crisis.

Yurekpoints outsix other provinces in Canada that have posted speed limits of 110 km/h on certain highways.

In 2014, British Columbia increased speed limits to 120 km/h in some parts of the province, but has since rolled back those increases because of an alarming increase in serious collisions.

"Most research shows that if you are involved within a collision and you are driving more than 120 km/h, your chances to survive are almost zero," MohamedHussein, a transportation engineering professor at McMaster University in Hamilton,told CBC News earlier this week.

However, other experts argue that 110 km/h is already the speed most cars travel on 400-series highways, especially in the Greater Toronto Area.