A resident has demanded action from the Revelstoke City Council in the wake of recent multiple fatal accidents on the Trans-Canada near town.
Nick Thomas wrote to council asking them to personally encourage the Ministry of Transportation to take action on the highway’s speed and maintenance issues.
On December 27, two people died west of Revelstoke near Three Valley Gap and less than a week later on January 2, a four-vehicle crash left two people dead near Albert Canyon, east of Revelstoke.
In both incidents, the highway was closed for up to eight hours, stranding hundreds event thousands of commuters.
The council will deliberate on the resident’s request at the council meeting on Jan. 13.
Read the letter in full below:
RE: Trans-Canada Highway carnage and chaos
Council,
I’m sure you are aware that so far this has been an awful winter on the Trans-Canada Highway. Too many deaths, too many closures, too many commercial vehicle wrecks.
Unfortunately, there is no sign that the BC Ministry of Transportation have any plans to do anything to reduce the carnage. Indeed, the only change that they have made this winter, the increase in the speed limit, may be contributing to it.
Could the council please consider writing to the Minister of Transportation asking for urgent action to address the problems on the highway. Perhaps there needs to be an enforcement campaign by CVIS and the RCMP aimed at the trucking industry – especially the companies that employ many inexperienced drivers with no winter mountain experience and pressure them to meet schedules whatever the highway conditions.
Perhaps the standard of winter highway maintenance can to be improved.
The ministry also needs to make progress on the long term solutions – improving the highway and raising standards of driving in the trucking industry. That won’t happen quickly but it needs to happen as soon as possible.
Nicholas Thomas
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