To the editor:
Having been a haul supervisor, truck driver and owner operator for over 45 years, my heart sank with the news of the fatal accident on Highway 102 Sunday afternoon.
The accident happened on a rather straight stretch of road, meaning this accident could have happened on any major highway. The timing of the circumstances made it deadly. This is a risk every truck driver faces, with the load pushing or pulling the truck as it travels down the road. These loads do not stop on a dime and I understand that care must be taken.
I must emphasize how important it is for us and the country to keep the supply chain moving smoothly in order to keep up with the demand for goods and to benefit the economy, the stock market (the smoothest operation of business), and ultimately the people.
Every part of our current highway system (11/17 and Arthur Street West to Kakabeka and Highway 102) is in sync to keep things flowing well. This has been effective for years and even in light of the recent tragedy is still safer for the public overall.
Traffic lights on highways, together with trucks are a bad combination anytime, and we don't want to find that out the hard way. These things are just too painful.
Alderman Aiello, Alderman Giertuga and the powers that be in the city's engineering department seem to have little understanding of what they are threatening to do. Highway speed traffic lights and a lack of a physical divider on the Expressway only spell trouble. Traffic density there is much, much higher than Highway 102. We do not need a death trap on one of our busiest thoroughfares.
I don't see how Alderman Frazer can say that he will take Arthur Street West off the table when it's not his to give. It belongs to the citizens. Diverting to Arthur Street West will only make east-west routes longer and more costly. This benefits no one.
The current highway system is there for a reason. It works. Let us keep the traffic spread out as it is, and let's think about the future and resist going backwards.
Eric Harju,
McIntyre
