While the RCMP haven’t provided much in the way of details over the tragic crash last week on highway 16, concerns have been raised over the state of the highway between Terrace and Prince Rupert.
Last Friday’s crash resulted in two deaths and two other passengers taken to hospital as a Chevy Cavalier went off the road west of Polymar. No official cause has been listed yet and the investigation is still is ongoing, but local residents and politicians have begun to ask questions about the safety of travel along highway 16.
The Thursday Daily news provided a platform for some of those concerns.
COONS REFLECTS ON SAFETY OF ROAD
MLA wonders if reflective markings would help
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pages one and five
With the tragic crash that occurred Friday night on Highway 16, concerns about the safety of the stretch of road from Prince Rupert to Terrace have been raised in the community.
However, even before that fatal accident there were concerns about the dangers of driving those 139 kilometres after dark, especially with many portions being under construction during previous months.
One such concerned member of the public is Prince Rupert resident Dorris Gemmell. She was moved to write a letter to North Coast MLA Gary Coons after traveling in from Terrace on a rainy night earlier this month.
“There were stretches of road that had no centre lines, no lines denoting the outer edges of the roads, no rumble strips, and by the time I reached Carwash Rock it was dark, foggy and rainy so that you could not tell where you were oriented side to side on the road,” said Gemmell in her letter to Coons.
“I realize that construction needs to happen on that road, what I cannot understand is why effective temporary reflective markers are not put in place.”
After seeing an accident that night of Sept. 2 at approximately 10 p. m. Gemmell turned her vehicle back to Terrace and decided to send off a letter to Coons asking for his help in figuring out why reflective markers were not being used to prevent further accidents.
Coons was as concerned as Gemmell after reading her letter, and on Sept. 6 e-mailed Don Ramsay, Ministry of Transportation district manager for Skeena to find out why there were many kilometers of road that were not marked and what the policy was for centre-line reflective marking during paving and construction.
Coons wrote back again this Sunday to further express his concerns with the safety of drivers on the highway, especially in the wake of Friday’s fatal accident.
“I traveled the highway at night on Wed., Sept. 12 and found the road very questionable as far as safety was concerned,” said Coons in his e-mail.
“There are no centre-line reflectors, just yellow tape that show three to four metres in front of the vehicle. I was devastated to hear that an accident occurred, (and) I hope that I had nothing to do with road construction.”
On Monday, Coons got a reply from Ramsay, who apologized for not replying sooner and who assured him that Ministry staff reported that the RCMP had no safety concerns with respect to the highway. The accident on Friday did not occur on an active section of the paving project.
One of the main reasons we establish construction zones and place signs to inform motorists is to make drivers aware that things are happening on the highway and that they need to exercise additional caution and, as always, drive to the conditions they encounter,’ said Ramsay in his reply.
“I certainly appreciate that visibility of the road is not as good under these conditions as under finished conditions, however it is always the driver’s responsibility to slow down and drive at a speed where they can safely negotiate the road. It is not ministry practice to use reflectors as you suggested.”
Ramsay also stated that centerline tape had been placed throughout the project, and that tape is not placed to denote the edge of the pavement as it would be unsafe for drivers who may interpret there is another lane adjacent.
He also noted that according to ministry paving experts, the L-shaped reflective markers Coons and Gemmell referred to were not warranted for use in this area.
Not fully satisfied with the explanation, Coons wrote Ramsay again on Monday to find out what criteria is used to warrant the use of reflectors in specific areas, and who is responsible for making the decision. He is anxiously awaiting a response, and hopes to quell some public concerns about safety on Highway 16 as soon as possible
Last Friday’s crash resulted in two deaths and two other passengers taken to hospital as a Chevy Cavalier went off the road west of Polymar. No official cause has been listed yet and the investigation is still is ongoing, but local residents and politicians have begun to ask questions about the safety of travel along highway 16.
The Thursday Daily news provided a platform for some of those concerns.
COONS REFLECTS ON SAFETY OF ROAD
MLA wonders if reflective markings would help
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pages one and five
With the tragic crash that occurred Friday night on Highway 16, concerns about the safety of the stretch of road from Prince Rupert to Terrace have been raised in the community.
However, even before that fatal accident there were concerns about the dangers of driving those 139 kilometres after dark, especially with many portions being under construction during previous months.
One such concerned member of the public is Prince Rupert resident Dorris Gemmell. She was moved to write a letter to North Coast MLA Gary Coons after traveling in from Terrace on a rainy night earlier this month.
“There were stretches of road that had no centre lines, no lines denoting the outer edges of the roads, no rumble strips, and by the time I reached Carwash Rock it was dark, foggy and rainy so that you could not tell where you were oriented side to side on the road,” said Gemmell in her letter to Coons.
“I realize that construction needs to happen on that road, what I cannot understand is why effective temporary reflective markers are not put in place.”
After seeing an accident that night of Sept. 2 at approximately 10 p. m. Gemmell turned her vehicle back to Terrace and decided to send off a letter to Coons asking for his help in figuring out why reflective markers were not being used to prevent further accidents.
Coons was as concerned as Gemmell after reading her letter, and on Sept. 6 e-mailed Don Ramsay, Ministry of Transportation district manager for Skeena to find out why there were many kilometers of road that were not marked and what the policy was for centre-line reflective marking during paving and construction.
Coons wrote back again this Sunday to further express his concerns with the safety of drivers on the highway, especially in the wake of Friday’s fatal accident.
“I traveled the highway at night on Wed., Sept. 12 and found the road very questionable as far as safety was concerned,” said Coons in his e-mail.
“There are no centre-line reflectors, just yellow tape that show three to four metres in front of the vehicle. I was devastated to hear that an accident occurred, (and) I hope that I had nothing to do with road construction.”
On Monday, Coons got a reply from Ramsay, who apologized for not replying sooner and who assured him that Ministry staff reported that the RCMP had no safety concerns with respect to the highway. The accident on Friday did not occur on an active section of the paving project.
One of the main reasons we establish construction zones and place signs to inform motorists is to make drivers aware that things are happening on the highway and that they need to exercise additional caution and, as always, drive to the conditions they encounter,’ said Ramsay in his reply.
“I certainly appreciate that visibility of the road is not as good under these conditions as under finished conditions, however it is always the driver’s responsibility to slow down and drive at a speed where they can safely negotiate the road. It is not ministry practice to use reflectors as you suggested.”
Ramsay also stated that centerline tape had been placed throughout the project, and that tape is not placed to denote the edge of the pavement as it would be unsafe for drivers who may interpret there is another lane adjacent.
He also noted that according to ministry paving experts, the L-shaped reflective markers Coons and Gemmell referred to were not warranted for use in this area.
Not fully satisfied with the explanation, Coons wrote Ramsay again on Monday to find out what criteria is used to warrant the use of reflectors in specific areas, and who is responsible for making the decision. He is anxiously awaiting a response, and hopes to quell some public concerns about safety on Highway 16 as soon as possible
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