Now, this stretch of road has been causing nightmares for the city and province since before the downloading of 1998. There is now a push to try to toll this existing road, in a tasteless bid to keep Ottawa roads for Ottawans by saying that the tolls will be cancelled for Ottawa residents. Assuming Ottawans aren't that stupid to fall for such an elementary Jedi mind trick, this road should still serve as the main arterial road for the northern half of the United County of Prescott-Russell. There have been talks of expanding the 174 beyond Trim to some improved form compared to the current two-lane rural road.
Now, as much as I would like to see the road expanded further east (all expansions are good expansions), one question that was always on my mind was the following: why isn't OR174 properly signed or marked as a limited-access highway, with all the standard features of an Ontario highway?
I understand that yes, it was downloaded to Ottawa, technically putting it outside the jurisdiction of the MTO, but it was still not fully signed before that. Some of the hallmarks of a modern highway would be the presence of distance markers and numbered exits. Most of these exits have EXIT/SORTIE signs at the gore points, how hard would it have been to put a number in there instead? They even put up Emergency Detour Road markers and signage on OR174, so why would they neglect to finish up the rest?
No pedestrian/cyclists signs? Check.
EDR signage? Check.
Replace all reassurance markers on the road and at junctions for the rounded flowerpot 174 signs? Check.
Distance markers? Uhh...
The reason why they won't put them up is simple: it would remind Ottawans, Prescottins and Russelians how far they are from the Split with no mental arithmetic required. MTO standards (with the exception of the 417) say that kilometre zero must be defined at the west end of an east-west highway. Then again, MTO standards do not require having a logical numbering scheme, although Ottawa does, thus the number "17" + "4", rather than just 17, which is used elsewhere for a north-south regional road. Back to the main point... if you know how far you are from a place that is on the way to work in a traffic jam and it is nowhere near your workplace (downtown, Tunney's, Merivale...), it would grate on your nerves that much faster, leading to famous Ottawa outcomes such as dangerous passing, undertaking, zigzagging, road rage, driving in the bus lane shoulders on OR174, on better yet, hopping on at Blair and driving on the Transitway.
These are everyday problems with the 174, and there are other persistent problems, namely the desire to never see a bridge from Gatineau connecting at the Split or further east, as well as car-sized sinkholes forming on the roadway. Therefore, it's sad to say it, but most people do not want to know Trim is 14 km from the Split, because it reminds them that they live so far out, exiled from the society they have to work in, it's like living out in Carlsbad Springs, just a lot more expensive because of the locals jonesing each other.
I won't bother relisting the calculations of how far each exit is from the Split, so here's a Google Map that should demonstrate that, with projected Exit numbers if the City of Ottawa or the MTO decided to wake up.
View 2013 state of OR174 in a larger map
