It's not your imagination: It really is taking longer to travel the same distance in the Toronto region.

A 2008 study by the province shows it took almost twice as long to traverse some stretches of the 400-series highways than it did two years earlier.

The Ministry of Transportation Travel Times study, which is updated every two years with data gathered on highways and arterial roads in Toronto, York, Peel and Durham Regions, is before the city's Planning and Growth Management Committee on Wednesday.

Of the 462 segments of highway studied, 151 showed that travel times had slowed between 2006 and 2008.

The slowest 400-series highway speeds in the Toronto area are on the 404 and the 400, especially Highway 404 southbound from 16th Ave. to the 401.

Among the ten worst morning commutes is eastbound Highway 401 between Dixie and Mississauga Rds., where the mean speed dropped to 50 km/h in 2008 from 95 km/h in 2006 in the collector lanes.

Highway 410 between Bovaird Dr. and Highway 403 offered an equally frustrating morning commute, with the average speed dropping in the southbound lanes from 71 km/h in 2006 to 38 km/h in 2008.

The study also showed that generally commuters need to factor in extra time each day for congestion if they want to get to work on time.

An average trip in 2008 could be expected to take 13 to 24 per cent longer than the same trip in 2002, according to the study.

One slice of good news for motorists is that high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes appear to be reducing travel times on Highways 403, 404 and 401.

On the eastbound 403, HOV lane users between Winston Churchill Blvd. in Mississauga and Highway 401 average a trip six minutes faster than commuters in the regular lanes.

Weekend speeds are still significantly faster on the roads under study and the report suggests that there's enough highway capacity to have longer lane closures on weekends for road construction and maintenance.

The study also shows that getting around York Region, where arterial roads are among the widest in the study areas, is easier than travelling in Peel and Toronto during rush hours. Durham still has the best travel times on its arterial roads.

I hate traffic.

reverse commute is the key.

today was a freak day tho.....no traffic at all coming home eastbound on the gardiner. i did my usual lakeshore trip, and noticed the gardiner was completely EMPTY

More Asians driving ambulances

I was shocked when I heard that an average of 345,000 people use the 407 everyday... not so anymore. If you figure the average user spends about $5-$10 per day, they rake in $1.7-$3.4 million in tolls a day.

Good move by the government to sell it eh?

Good move by the government to sell it eh?

It's not sold....it's LEASED

407 has this new ad on their website stating that the 407 saves more money on gas... a 40km trip on 407 vs Hwy 7 saves 33 mins and 3L of fuel. Well duh, who would be dumb enough to take Hwy 7 for 40 kms??

it would potentially save more than 3L, since you'll need to consider gas used while idling or being stuck in traffic.

But for me, its not about the gas savings, its more about the savings in travel time.