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(Updated 8:30
a.m., Dec. 3)
Hwy. 174
safety audit calls on city to invest in additional road improvements
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
A study conducted
to assess safety issues along the eastern portion of Hwy. 174 east of Trim
Road, calls on the city to make a number of improvements along the busy
roadway which has been the scene of 270 collisions and five fatalities from
Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 30, 2007.
The majority
of the accidents occured along two consecutive sections of the roadway --
from Trim Road to Quigley Hill Road and from Quigley Hill Road to Cameron
Street.
The report makes
a number of recommendations aimed at improving the safety of the roadway.
The short term strategies include upgrading signs and pavement markings;
widening portions of the roadway on selected curves west of Quigley Hill
Road; the installation of centre line rumble strips which will alert drivers
to upcoming no passing zones; conduct a preliminary design study for turning
lanes at the Quigley Hill Road intersection; and provide illumination at
unsignalized intersections along the corridor.
The medium-term
strategies include: improve the roadside environment; upgrade traffic operations
at unsignalized intersections including the installation of turning lanes
where warranted; and the develop and implement an access management strategy.
The short term
strategies should be implemented by 2011. The medium-term strategies will
require a further engineering study before an implementation plan can be
established which would be dependent on the availability of funds.
Over the long-term
the report recommends that the roadway ultimately be widened from two lanes
to four lanes. But the recommendation has more to do wiith growth than safety.
According to the report, the daily average volume of traffic between Trim
Road and Canaan Road is 19,000 vehicles. In theory, the maximum capacity
is 20,000 vehicles.
Although the
report fails to identify where the majority of the traffic is coming from,
the assumption is that a high percentage of the vehicles originate from
Clarence-Rockland and points further east.
In accepting
and endorsing the safety audit recommendations, the transportation committee
also approved a motion introduced by Cumberland Ward Coun. Rob Jellett,
calling on the provincial government to undertake an environmental assessment
for the widening of Hwy. 174 east of Trim Road.
City council
passed a similar motion in April 2008, but only after they turned down a
$5 million offer from the provincial government to help pay for an EA. That
offer came on the heels of a commitment from both the proivincial and federal
levels of government to help cover the cost of the road wideinng.
The provincial
and federal govenmrnents both said they would contribute $40 million to
the $104 million project. Under the arrangement, the United Counties of
Prescott-Russell would be on the hook for $9 million and the city's contribution
would be $15 million. Both local levels of government turned down the provincial
and federal money.
City council
's position, then and now, is that the need to widen the roadway is due
to growth east of the city limits in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell,
and in particular Clarence-Rockland, and therefore the cost for both the
EA and the actual wideing should be fully borne by the provincial and federal
governments in partnership with Clarence-Rockland.
The debate over
who should pay for improvements to Hwy. 174 dates back to 1998 when the
province downloaded the roadway to the City of Ottawa. The city has been
arguing for the province to take back the roadway ever since.
To view the Hwy.
174 safety review visit http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/trc/2009/12-02/ACS2009-COS-PWS-0024.htm.
(This story
was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local
business partners.)
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