With the provincial election results tabulated, a Highway 401 safety advocacy group is preparing to continue its work.
The Progressive Conservatives won June 7, along with every MPP in the ridings along and bordering Highway 401’s “Carnage Alley.” Safety advocates are optimistic concrete median barriers will soon be a reality.
Doug Ford promised during two campaign visits to the Chatham-Kent- Leamington riding to build concrete median barriers on Hwy. 401 between London and Tilbury. Advocates say this is an important priority for this region both from a safety perspective for drivers and first responders, and from an economic perspective as each time the highway is closed, millions of dollars of goods are held up from their final destination.
“Premier-Designate Ford said that he keeps his promises. I look forward to working with him and MPPs Rick Nicholls and Jeff Yurek to ensure this life-and-death issue gets the same treatment,” Alysson Storey, founder of Build the Barrier, a grassroots group advocating for concrete median barriers between Tilbury and London, said in a release. “We do not want one more life lost in a preventable crossover collision. Mr. Ford has the opportunity to start this new chapter off on the right foot. He can do that by listening to his Southwestern Ontario MPPs and their constituents and getting this done. Rick and Jeff have been working on this with us since day one, so there’s no learning curve and no reason to delay. It’s time to get this done.”
There were a total of five fatalities and 10 serious hospitalizations in collisions on Hwy. 401 between Tilbury and London in 2017, along with numerous incidents that caused significant property damage and road closures, but did not require hospitalization. This year continues to see a high rate of incidents on Hwy. 401 in Carnage Alley.
