News that the Ministry of Transportation is planning to install a concrete median barrier along the 401 through Chatham-Kent and Elgin County is welcome news for local safety advocates.
Alysson Storey has been leading the Build the Barrier campaign, but says a temporary cable barrier, set to be installed in the next few months, is just the first step.
“Our goal is the concrete median barrier, not the cables, because we know the cables don’t protect transport trucks and those are, by the MTO’s own statistics, 40-50% of the vehicles on our roadways,” Storey says.
“When we’re leaving over half of our drivers unprotected, that’s not going to cut it.”
Build the Barrier was launched last summer after the deaths of Sarah Payne and her daughter Freya, who were killed when a transport crossed the centre median, striking their van.
“We have to remember this all started because two people died and they didn’t have to,” Storey says.
Storey says she’s pleased to see the government move in the right direction, but they haven’t reached their goal yet.
In the meantime, a second town hall meeting is being held on the issue tomorrow night, taking place at the Lambeth Community Hall.