The province has not yet released which stretches of highway they have deemed “safe” for speed limit increases. Photo Credit: iStock.
The Ontario government recently announced that they will be moving forward with plans to increase highway speed limits on all 400-series highways “where it is safe to do so.”
The move would mean the speed limit would increase from the current 100 km/h to 110 km/h on those roads.
They say that it “builds on the safe and successful increase of speed limits on more than one-third of provincial 400-series highways to date.”
The province has not released which stretches of highway they have deemed “safe,” although there are multiple 400-series roads that go through Hamilton, namely the 403 and the QEW.
However, it is possible that the province could find parts of Hamilton highways “unsafe” to increase speed limits.
For example, the QEW includes the Skyway Bridge, which can be somewhat challenging to drive on when there are high winds, especially for trucks.
Additionally, the 403 has one area that currently has a maximum speed of 90 km/h since drivers from Highway 6 merge onto the 403 in what can be an awkward maneuver since it is from the left lane.
The change follows a September 2019 pilot project that saw the Ontario government raise speed limits in three different locations including a 32 km part of the QEW from Hamilton to St. Catharines, a 90 km stretch on the 402 from Sarnia to London, and a 102 km area of the 417 from Gloucester to the Ontario-Quebec border.
The Ontario government also ran a survey in 2019, with over 8,300 participants, with almost 80 per cent of respondents saying that they think 100 km/h is too slow for 400 series highways.
The government monitored the pilot and consulted with Ontario Provincial Police before permanently raising the speed limit on an additional 10 sections of highway in July 2024.
Those in the Hamilton area that were newly added were the 403 from Brantford to Hamilton (14.5 km), the 403 from Woodstock to Brantford (26 km), and the 406 from Thorold to Welland.
That change meant that 36 per cent (860 kilometres) of Ontario’s highway network now have maximum speed limits of 110 km/h.
The province notes that Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan all have posted speed limits of 100 km/h on some of their highways, while British Columbia has a maximum speed limit of 120 km/h in some places.
The Ontario government also says that they are even developing a “design standard to allow vehicles to travel safely at speeds higher than 120 km/h on new highways.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference raising speed limits on highways is part of his government’s plan to “leave no stone unturned to help fight gridlock on our roads, reduce travel times and allow people to spend less time commuting and more time at home with their families.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
