[Talk-ca] Proposed changes to road classification and related stuff

[Jarek Piórkowski]

On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 at 17:09, Jherome Miguel <jheromemiguel at gmail.com> wrote:
> It's not just about keeping up with changes in the border, but I find there need to a lot more trunk routes so to highlight other important road links between important regional population centres (in here as well as in the US), not just ones defined by a committee of provincial and territorial transportation ministers.  Yes, a trunk network based on the NHS core network may be okay and is mostly well-connected so to say the least, and we can leave that as it is, but we should try to highlight other key connections (e.g. Barrie/Toronto/Kitchener-Waterloo/London–Owen Sound, Red Deer–Saskatoon, Medicine Hat-Lloydminster, Rouyn-Noranda–Saguenay without passing through the St. Lawrence valley, North Battleford-Prince Albert, Prince Albert-Yorkton without passing through Saskatoon), and relying solely on a highway being a NHS core route can reveal connectivity gaps, especially when viewing the map at lower zooms. Connectivity is an current issue as with BC 99 (Sea to Sky Highway), which ends at Whistler rather than continuing up to the Cariboo; the BC 99 trunk status being based on where it's an NHS route.

This might be my Toronto-centricity speaking, but I'm having a tough
time with Owen Sound being mentioned as a important regional
population centre. It's the population of a mid-size neighbourhood.

Peterborough is to me the nearest thing to "regional population
centres in southern Ontario not connected to a 400-series freeway",
and it's connected with the currently-tagged-as-trunk-and-motorway
highway 115.

In the Ontario north, the NHS-designated highways 11 and 17 seem to
cover the population centres.

--Jarek