Ed’s Bait – Morning Coffee

Weather forecast for Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Today – A mix of sun and cloud. 60 percent chance of showers early this morning. High 20. UV index 8 or very high.

Tonight – Partly cloudy. Clearing late this evening. Low 8.

‘Carnage Alley’ voted worst road in region

CAA has announced the winners of its annual worst roads campaign, and Carnage Alley is first on the list in this region.

In a recent media release a CAA spokesperson stated road issues usually know no boundaries.

Votes are compiled and released as a provincial top-10 list along with a series of regional lists.

Since 2003, CAA’s Worst Roads campaign has provided road users across Ontario the opportunity to nominate roads they believe are in urgent need of repair.

For Build the Barrier advocates, it has always been clear what the urgent need is in Chatham-Kent.

It is to address Carnage Alley and the high number of collisions, injuries and fatalities that continue to occur between London and Tilbury.

“This is the type of contest no one wants to win,” states Alysson Storey, founder of Build the Barrier, an advocacy group lobbying for construction of a concrete median barrier on Highway 401 between Tilbury and London.

“But we also must continue to raise awareness about this issue, especially in light of the provincial election this week. This reminds the powers-that-be at Queen’s Park that this road needs some serious, life-saving improvements. And we need them now. We’re grateful that people took the time to vote and share their own frustration with the state of this dangerous highway.”

Voting was open to residents across Ontario and closed on April 15.

According to CAA spokesperson Raymond Chan it is unusual to see a provincial highway on the list.

There was a total of five fatalities and 10 serious hospitalizations in collisions on Highway 401 between Tilbury and London in 2017, along with numerous collisions that caused significant property damage and road closures, but did not require hospitalization.

2018 continues to see a high rate of incidents on Highway 401 in Carnage Alley. Just last week (May 29) a transport rear-ended a vehicle near Ridgetown in a construction zone.

There were four crossovers between April 25th and May 3rd in Chatham-Kent. On January 29th, there were 22 collisions and incidents (including crossovers) in less than 24 hours between Tilbury and Ridgetown.

On February 7th 12 collisions and incidents in the span of 14 hours in the same stretch. On Feb 13/14 there were two incidents with full closures of more than 10 hours in Elgin County in the span of 36 hours. On March 2nd at least 13 collisions on Highway 401 were reported by Chatham-Kent OPP.