ONTARIO SPEED LIMIT INCREASES TO 110 KM/H INCLUDE SECTIONS OF HWY. 11 & 400
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — Drivers along two stretches of highways that run through Muskoka will be able to pick up speed on a trial basis as of April 22.
A 45-kilometre stretch of Hwy. 11 north — from Emsdale to South River; and a 55-kilometre part of Hwy. 400 in west Muskoka — between MacTier and Nobel — will both have speed limits increased to 110 km/h.
Both are currently posted at 100 km/h.
Hwy. 400 southbound to Toronto is not included in today’s Ontario announced changes.
They pair are in addition to the province’s announcement that will see six sections of highways in southern Ontario also increase their speed limits by 10 km/h.
The Ministry of Transportation said today that the changes follow several speed limit pilots and consultations that will align posted speeds with other jurisdictions across Canada.
“Our government continues to find new ways to make life easier and more convenient for families and businesses that depend on highways to get where they need to go,” said minister Caroline Mulroney. “With road safety top of mind, these sections have been carefully selected based on their ability to accommodate higher speed limits.”
Beginning April 22, 2022, the speed limit will be raised permanently to 110 km/h on the following sections of provincial highways in southern Ontario:
- Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) from Hamilton to St. Catharines (32 km)
- Highway 402 from London to Sarnia (90 km)
- Highway 417 from Ottawa to the Ontario/Quebec Border (102 km)
- Highway 401 from Windsor to Tilbury (approximately 40 km)
- Highway 404 from Newmarket to Woodbine (approximately 16 km)
- Highway 417 from Kanata to Arnprior (approximately 37 km)
In September 2019, the government launched an online survey to gather public feedback when the higher speed limit pilots were introduced on certain sections of highways in southern Ontario. Of the 8,300 people that responded to the survey, approximately 80 per cent were supportive of the pilots and 82 per cent stated they support raising speed limits on more sections of 400-series highways.
The ministry says in a release that it has been monitoring all raised speed limit sections for safety and operations, and observations indicate that the sections with a raised speed limit have been operating as expected. Both the operating speeds and collision trends within these sections have remained comparable to other similar highway sections where speed limits remained unchanged at 100 km/h.
It adds there are currently six other provinces that have set their speed limits in excess of 100 km/h on select segments of certain highways: Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
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