Niagara-bound Burlington Skyway bridge lane closures: July 25th to 28th

Similar lane closures will also happen the following weekends:

• Aug. 8 to 11
• Aug. 15 to 18
• Aug. 22 to 25

“More closures may be required after August.”

The Ministry of Transportation notes that “closures depend on weather and work schedules, and may be postponed or changed throughout the project.”

Closures can be confirmed online at 511on.ca (as of Monday, the closures were still slated to happen).

What happens when an Aldershot resident suggests a way to ease congestion when lanes on the Skyway are closed?

The traffic nightmare many Burlington residents experienced during Mother’s Day weekend caused some of us to wonder if there is a way to ease congestion during future closures. Realizing that the work on the Skyway is essential, one resident came up with an idea and wrote to the city a few days after Mother’s Day (May 10^th). Wednesday of this week, July 22nd, he received a reply, shown in full below, from the city.

Many drivers now use in-car navigation systems like Google Maps or Waze. Navigation systems will reroute drivers to avoid traffic jams. To avoid the huge traffic jam on the QEW, the navigation systems were directing people to exit the QEW at Burloak, Appleby, Walkers, etc. and head to the Northshore ramp to return to the QEW. The result was huge traffic jams on east-west arteries in Burlington, including Lakeshore Rd., Fairview, New St., as traffic flooded off the QEW. Burlington was gridlocked.

What would happen if the MTO closed the Southbound QEW on-ramp at Northshore? With the ramp closed, navigation systems would not suggest drivers exit the QEW. People driving through Burlington on the QEW would have only one choice: stay on the QEW.

This simple, low-cost option might inconvenience a few people, but overall, Burlington residents would be able to get around in their city.

The person who came up with this idea recently moved into the city. He has a lot to learn about how things work in Burlington.

What’s fascinating about the response from the city (Shown below) is that the Southbound QEW access ramp at Northshore has been closed during a Skyway lane closures. Here is a quick timeline:

Mother’s Day weekend – Northshore interchange fully open – massive traffic jams on Burlington streets.

May 30^th – Northshore interchange southbound access closed – normal traffic on Burlington streets.

First closure in July – Northshore interchange fully open – massive traffic jams on Burlington streets.

One has to wonder if anyone who works for the Burlington residents and taxpayers lives in Burlington or cares what happens when the Skyway lanes are closed.

Here is the full response to a resident’s email sent to the city soon after Mother’s Day.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us about the congestion you experienced on the weekend of 5-6 July and your suggestion to close the Niagara-bound entry ramp to the QEW on North Shore Boulevard East during future closures. Staff are aware of the inconvenience this causes to residents in the area of the closures and the City of Burlington has been in contact with the MTO to improve communication and coordination between closures.

Please note that the QEW is operated and maintained by the MTO; the City of Burlington does not have the authority to close any freeway interchange that is under MTO jurisdiction. The City is also not currently equipped with the tools to analyze the benefits and consequences of the proposed closure, and therefore cannot make a recommendation to other agencies. The best way for your suggestion of closing the Niagara-bound entry ramp at North Shore Boulevard East to be considered would be to contact the MTO directly. They have the tools and authority to determine whether this closure is feasible and whether it can be implemented for future projects. The MTO provides several options for contact on their website at the link below.

https://www.ontario.ca/feedback/contact-us?id=26938&nid=97174

Thank you,

Traffic Operations

Conclusion:  The city isn’t going to work all that hard to find a way to resolve the traffic problems – they apparently don’t have the “tools”.