Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath is calling for a judicial review into the safety of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Horwath stated in a Feb. 11 release that the Ontario Superior Court should examine any safety concerns of the roadway and how they were addressed, including the lack of disclosure about the 2013 friction test.
It was revealed last week that a study examining the friction of the roadway had been “buried” and was finally presented to councillors in a closed-door meeting Feb. 6.
Hamilton officials have apologized to residents for how the report was uncovered. Councillors have approved reducing the speed on the parkway from 90 kilometres per hour to 80 km/h and the city will accelerate planned upgrades to the road and resurface the Red Hill Valley Parkway in 2019.
Councillors also requested that the city’s auditor conduct a review of how the report was buried.
“We can’t allow any more lives to be put in jeopardy,” said Horwath.
She stated that of the 994 motor vehicle crashes on Hamilton’s Lincoln Alexander Parkway and Red Hill Valley Parkway, 668 of them occurred on the Red Hill between 2012 and 2015.
The NDP is also demanding the transportation ministry release a friction report on the parkway. The tests, NDP officials said were done soon after the roadway opened in 2007.
Bob Nichols, spokesperson for the transportation ministry, said the ministry doesn’t have specific authority over municipalities regarding their roads.
“The Red Hill parkway is a municipal road and the city is best positioned to speak to its condition,” he said.
The NDP leader joins other local politicians who are demanding an independent external investigation involving possible safety issues on the parkway.
Flamborough-Glanbrook Progressive Conservative MPP Donna Skelly said an investigation is needed.
“I was concerned about the high number of fatalities and collisions on that stretch of road when I was on city council …,” said Skelly.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger has already called for an independent external investigation, and is encouraging council to back such a review.
“I am confident my council colleagues also support that direction,” said Eisenberger.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure ongoing public safety and public trust.”
In his statement released Feb. 8, Eisenberger said it was difficult for him and the other members of council to understand why the 2013 report wasn’t brought forward until last week.
The public has been calling on the city to conduct an extensive third-party investigation in the wake of the revelation the report revealed friction on portions of the parkway were below acceptable standards.
Councillors heard the results of the report for the first time Feb. 6.
But a video circulating on social media revealed Gary Moore, director of engineering in 2015, responding to a question from a councillor during a public works meeting that the 2013 friction report conducted by Tradewind Scientific revealed there were “no concerns” with the Red Hill Valley Parkway’s asphalt.
The question from councillors came seven months after Olivia Smosarski and Jordyn Hastings, both 19, were killed late at night when their vehicle crossed the grassy median and crashed.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath is calling for a judicial review into the safety of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Horwath stated in a Feb. 11 release that the Ontario Superior Court should examine any safety concerns of the roadway and how they were addressed, including the lack of disclosure about the 2013 friction test.
It was revealed last week that a study examining the friction of the roadway had been “buried” and was finally presented to councillors in a closed-door meeting Feb. 6.
Hamilton officials have apologized to residents for how the report was uncovered. Councillors have approved reducing the speed on the parkway from 90 kilometres per hour to 80 km/h and the city will accelerate planned upgrades to the road and resurface the Red Hill Valley Parkway in 2019.
Councillors also requested that the city’s auditor conduct a review of how the report was buried.
“We can’t allow any more lives to be put in jeopardy,” said Horwath.
She stated that of the 994 motor vehicle crashes on Hamilton’s Lincoln Alexander Parkway and Red Hill Valley Parkway, 668 of them occurred on the Red Hill between 2012 and 2015.
The NDP is also demanding the transportation ministry release a friction report on the parkway. The tests, NDP officials said were done soon after the roadway opened in 2007.
Bob Nichols, spokesperson for the transportation ministry, said the ministry doesn’t have specific authority over municipalities regarding their roads.
“The Red Hill parkway is a municipal road and the city is best positioned to speak to its condition,” he said.
The NDP leader joins other local politicians who are demanding an independent external investigation involving possible safety issues on the parkway.
Flamborough-Glanbrook Progressive Conservative MPP Donna Skelly said an investigation is needed.
“I was concerned about the high number of fatalities and collisions on that stretch of road when I was on city council …,” said Skelly.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger has already called for an independent external investigation, and is encouraging council to back such a review.
“I am confident my council colleagues also support that direction,” said Eisenberger.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure ongoing public safety and public trust.”
In his statement released Feb. 8, Eisenberger said it was difficult for him and the other members of council to understand why the 2013 report wasn’t brought forward until last week.
The public has been calling on the city to conduct an extensive third-party investigation in the wake of the revelation the report revealed friction on portions of the parkway were below acceptable standards.
Councillors heard the results of the report for the first time Feb. 6.
But a video circulating on social media revealed Gary Moore, director of engineering in 2015, responding to a question from a councillor during a public works meeting that the 2013 friction report conducted by Tradewind Scientific revealed there were “no concerns” with the Red Hill Valley Parkway’s asphalt.
The question from councillors came seven months after Olivia Smosarski and Jordyn Hastings, both 19, were killed late at night when their vehicle crossed the grassy median and crashed.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath is calling for a judicial review into the safety of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Horwath stated in a Feb. 11 release that the Ontario Superior Court should examine any safety concerns of the roadway and how they were addressed, including the lack of disclosure about the 2013 friction test.
It was revealed last week that a study examining the friction of the roadway had been “buried” and was finally presented to councillors in a closed-door meeting Feb. 6.
Hamilton officials have apologized to residents for how the report was uncovered. Councillors have approved reducing the speed on the parkway from 90 kilometres per hour to 80 km/h and the city will accelerate planned upgrades to the road and resurface the Red Hill Valley Parkway in 2019.
Councillors also requested that the city’s auditor conduct a review of how the report was buried.
“We can’t allow any more lives to be put in jeopardy,” said Horwath.
She stated that of the 994 motor vehicle crashes on Hamilton’s Lincoln Alexander Parkway and Red Hill Valley Parkway, 668 of them occurred on the Red Hill between 2012 and 2015.
The NDP is also demanding the transportation ministry release a friction report on the parkway. The tests, NDP officials said were done soon after the roadway opened in 2007.
Bob Nichols, spokesperson for the transportation ministry, said the ministry doesn’t have specific authority over municipalities regarding their roads.
“The Red Hill parkway is a municipal road and the city is best positioned to speak to its condition,” he said.
The NDP leader joins other local politicians who are demanding an independent external investigation involving possible safety issues on the parkway.
Flamborough-Glanbrook Progressive Conservative MPP Donna Skelly said an investigation is needed.
“I was concerned about the high number of fatalities and collisions on that stretch of road when I was on city council …,” said Skelly.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger has already called for an independent external investigation, and is encouraging council to back such a review.
“I am confident my council colleagues also support that direction,” said Eisenberger.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure ongoing public safety and public trust.”
In his statement released Feb. 8, Eisenberger said it was difficult for him and the other members of council to understand why the 2013 report wasn’t brought forward until last week.
The public has been calling on the city to conduct an extensive third-party investigation in the wake of the revelation the report revealed friction on portions of the parkway were below acceptable standards.
Councillors heard the results of the report for the first time Feb. 6.
But a video circulating on social media revealed Gary Moore, director of engineering in 2015, responding to a question from a councillor during a public works meeting that the 2013 friction report conducted by Tradewind Scientific revealed there were “no concerns” with the Red Hill Valley Parkway’s asphalt.
The question from councillors came seven months after Olivia Smosarski and Jordyn Hastings, both 19, were killed late at night when their vehicle crossed the grassy median and crashed.