Out of the 10 new sections being introduced this summer, there are three stretches in the Hamilton area. Pictured: Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria. Photo Credit: Prabmeet Sarkaria/X.
The Ontario government under Premier Doug Ford recently announced that they will be raising the speed limit permanently from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on 10 additional sections of provincial highways starting July 12, 2024.
The government previously ran a pilot project in 2019 on increasing speed limits on some highways and, in 2022, raised the limit permanently on six different sections including a 32 kilometre stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) between Hamilton and St. Catharines.
Out of the 10 new sections being introduced this summer, there are three stretches in the Hamilton area.
First, the speed limit on Highway 403 between Hamilton and Brantford will be increased to 110 km/h on what is a 14.5 km stretch of road.
Second, Highway 403 from Brantford to Woodstock, a 26 km section, will see a speed limit increase.
And third is a 13 km section of Highway 406 from Thorold to Welland.
The other seven sections that will see increases to a 110 km/h limit are:
Hwy 401, Tilbury, extending the existing 110 km/h zone further east by 7 km
Hwy 401 from Hwy 35/115 to Cobourg (35 km stretch)
Hwy 401 from Colborne to Belleville (44 km)
Hwy 401 from Belleville to Kingston (66 km)
Hwy 401 from Hwy 16 to Quebec boundary (107 km)
Hwy 416 from Hwy 401 to Ottawa (70 km)
Hwy 69 from Sudbury to French River (60 km)
MPP Neil Lumsden, who represents the riding of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and serves as the Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport, said that the move is about “making life more convenient for Ontario drivers.”
Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria, who announced the change, echoed Lumsden’s comment: “Most of Ontario’s highways were originally designed to safely accommodate speed limits of 110 km/h and the data from our changes in 2022 shows they do just that,” he said.
“These evidence-based increases are a common-sense change to make life more convenient for Ontario drivers while bringing our highway speed limits in line with other Canadian provinces.”
Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan all have highways where the maximum speed is 110 km/h.
Meanwhile, the province of British Columbia has highways where 120 km/h is the maximum speed.
The province notes that each stretch of road selected for an increase has been carefully chosen.
After the new changes go into effect, the province says that 36 per cent (860 kilometres) of Ontario’s highway network will have maximum speeds of 110 km/h.
However, the province warns that stunt driving penalties will continue to apply at 150 km/h regardless of if the stretch of highway has a 100 km/h or 110 km/h limit.
The Ontario government also indicates that public opinion appears to be on their side in support of the changes.
When the Ontario government conducted an online survey judging the level of support for their raised speed limit pilot project, they found that 80 per cent of respondents viewed it favourably.
In turn, 82 per cent of respondents supported increasing speed limits on additional sections of provincial highways.
It seems that those surveyed will soon get their wish.
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.
