Letter to;
Department of Transportation Alberta
SafeRoads Alberta
Mayors office of;
Mayor William Choy (Stony Plain)
Mayor Rod Shaigec (Parkland County)
Mayor Suart Houston (Spruce Grove)
To All Involved,
As of late we have become increasingly aware of the high risk intersection of highway 16a and range roads 20 in Parkland County. As the most up and coming Towing Service in the Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Parkland County area we have to make effort to help increase safety where we see a risk.
In the recent few weeks we have attended and observed serious collisions at that intersection and most recently a fatality. Our heart goes out to the family and those involved.
Though we aren’t aware of the official cause of the incidents we can say that there was day light. It’s apparent the county has taken strides in increasing the safety at that intersection as it is well lit at night. However with most of what we’ve observed being daylight we have the following suggestions/requests.
We believe that information is key. Even though flashing lights at roadside are ignored by many (#slowdownmoveover), the flashing red lights on a stop sign would make it stand out. With the length of road between highway 16 and 16a being so short, it’s easy for those who aren’t aware to gain speed after exiting a highway into a range road, unaware of the dangers 4 lane divided highway that awaits them just over the hill.
Along with the flashing stop signs on range road 20, we also think that LARGE warning signs about the important inspection ahead may assist in the reduction of signs.
However, should the cause of those incidents be more related to the crossing of the highway, rather than missing the stop signs and entering traffic, we propose a new traffic pattern all around.
We’ve put our heads together to come up with some options, may not be the best, but hey you have to start somewhere.
Option:
- The intersection gets closed completely north and south, not allowing any traffic to connect, cross, enter or exit at range road 20 and highway 16a. This would completely eliminate the cause of collision at this intersection. Given there are many other options of routes in the area, this would be the most aggressive and solid solution though would cause some upset to residents.
- Eliminate the opportunity of crossing highway 16a. Effectively only allowing to enter highway 16a from south to west and from north to east. Respectively also only allowing the exit off of 16a from west to north and east to south. Similar to the initial, this would drastically eliminate risk of traffic crossing paths thus reducing the risk of collisions. This option would provide less impact to the residents.
No matter the case, something needs to be done. We at Tuber Towing pride ourselves with safety and poviding to our neighbours in Parkland County. Though, dealing with smashed cars is our business, it doesn’t outweigh the risk and the impact it has on people’s lives. There are things that can be done to help reduce this risk and we want to make sure this happens.
In the meantime, when Tuber Towing has an available truck, you may see us ‘staging’ nearby to both aid in providing intserction safety by providing visiblity but also, in case there is yet another event we will at least be there to help at someone’s WORST time!
Please, Mayor Choy, Mayor Shaigec and Mayor Houston, these are our neighbours at risk. Can we please work together in making a change to help save some lives.
Sincerely,
Matt Huber
Tuber Towing is Parkland County’s Largest Towing Company providing light, medium, and heavy duty towing services in the Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and Edmonton Regions. We are a Primary AMA Service Provider that takes pride in Safety and our Committment to excellent service.