When the east end O-Train extension was first being considered, many people, including yours truly, believed that the westbound bus-only lane on Hwy. 174 would be turned into a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane. It’s one of the reasons why I argued that the LRT be placed down the middle of the highway. It’s also a big reason why east end commuters have put up with three years of lane closures.

The construction of the O-Train extension along with the creation of a westbound HOV lane would be a win-win situation for both transit users and commuters.

Imagine my surprise then, when I recently learned that there would no HOV lane after all. It turns out that in order to have an HOV lane, you also need to have a paved shoulder with a width equal to size of a car or bus. And since there is no paved shoulder beside the current bus only lane, the city would have to pay to create one.

Unfortunately, having sunk all its money into the O-Train expansion, there is nothing left to widen the 174. And even if the City did have the money, they certainly wouldn’t use it on a highway that the province is expected to take over in 2027.

So here we are. When the O-Trains extension finally comes online, east end commuters will be stuck with the same two lanes they’ve had forever.

The new shoulder will be reserved for emergency vehicles only. It could also be used by buses should the LRT be shut down for weather-related or mechanical issues, but that contingency is still under consideration.

Turning the westbound bus-only lane into HOV lane should have been part of the plan from the beginning. The fact that it wasn’t is outrageous and a further demonstration that Orléans seems to always be playing the second fiddle to Kanata when it comes to transportation infrastructure in this city.

Kanata has had an eastbound HOV lane since 2009. That’s 16 years ago. The only improvement made to Hwy 174 since then was the creation of an extra lane through the split in 2015 to accommodate the extra buses during the construction of the LRT line from the Hurdman Station to Blair Road.

In the meantime, the traffic has only gotten worse as Orléans continues to expand and the volume of traffic from Clarence-Rockland continues to grow.

Orléans deserves better. Which is why pressure needs to applied to the provincial government to right this wrong and widen westbound Hwy. 174 to allow for an HOV when and if they take over responsibility for the highway. .