Photo by Stephanie Fysh

Photo by Shawn Smith

My grade 10 geography teacher commuted daily from Barrie to Markham. My commute: Bloor and Christie to Queen and Spadina. This weekend I decided to have a short vacation; I took the 400 highway to Collingwood from Toronto. As far as driving goes, I considered it a ‘good’ drive. But I cannot see myself driving down the 400 as often as my teacher did, ever.

My ‘good’ drive depends on:

• the time of day
• the day(s) of week
• the season
• the reason for travel
• the type of car
• the driver’s driving ’style’ (aggressive, lane-changer, space from the car in front etc)
• the volume of traffic
• the music selection and/or level of chatter

The drive back home to Toronto took place on the Sunday in the middle of Labour Day long weekend and started around 5:30pm. I had borrowed my parents’ new-ish Mazda V6 station wagon (note: without sunroof), which transported myself, my boyfriend and my sister. The CD selection was made hastily and included Buena Vistas’ Ruben Gonzalez, Willie Nelson’s Stardust, Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief, Thom York’s Eraser among others. Usually for passengers (those not being official navagational assistant), when chatter dies down, and the car’s rhythm is constant, the internal activity of contemplation may set in.

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As a comparison to my photo post from last week, I thought I would share what Highway 401 looks like on a regular day. This scene shouldn’t be a surprise as this highway is travelled by 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles a day, making it the busiest in North America, even beyond the freeway in Los Angeles which sees 350,000 vehicles daily.

You never really appreciate the infrastructure you have, until you don’t have it. This past Sunday, the 401 was closed down between the 400 and the DVP/404 due to an explosion in North York at Sunrise Propane early that morning.

Strangely enough, the lack of traffic left a quiet calm in my apartment, which overlooks the 401 near the Allen. However, commuters on either end of the city were stuck in chaotic traffic.