Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 30, 2001
Highway Mess
There have been 80 accidents where Highway 407 meets Highway 403 in Burlington since the end of July.Ontario Provincial Police say only 10 of the accidents resulted in injuries, but all caused major traffic tieups and added to drivers’ frustration.
The 407 was supposed to move traffic through this area faster, not create more gridlock.
The issue is the design of the 407 ETR (express toll route) access.
The left lane on the non-toll Highway 403 flows directly on to the toll-charging 407.
Drivers who aren’t paying attention could find themselves either driving on the toll road or having to make a quick lane change to avoid it.
These changes have been blamed for several minor collisions.
The situation caused a public outcry when the 407 opened at the Freeman interchange in Burlington in August.
The Ontario Transportation Ministry and 407 officials put up more signs that provide more advanced notice of the left lane becoming part of the 407 and this seemed to ease the situation. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)
The cartoon above is the colourized version published in the book, “You Might be From Hamilton If.” It is posted online and its original URL may be accessed here.