Time for action

Yet again, serious accidents have occurred in the valley of Highway 6 where it intersects Wellington Road 22 and 8th line.

At present, the ministry is working with local landowners to assemble enough property to install a roundabout.

For residents the job cannot be undertaken quickly enough. But like most bigger-picture road projects involving the province, time seems to stand still. Highway 6 in Puslinch, Highway 7 to Kitchener also stand in limbo after being proposed decades ago. Clearly, there is something wrong with a system that drags on to the detriment of the travelling public.

In some recent correspondence from a Centre Wellington resident, patience is clearly wearing thin. The email to numerous decision makers, which was copied to us, prompted a call to discuss his message further. The question we had was had a family member been hurt there, because this wasn’t the first reaction from him on the subject. Incensed by inaction, in the face of countless tragedies and seriously injured people, he shared his wife often calls home when these things happen to let him know she is okay. And we are quite sure many families are the same – checking in so family doesn’t worry. Really, anyone travelling that road regularly is at risk.

That intersection has been a mess for some time. Road alignment, excessive speed, misjudgment of distance – all these factors make up conditions that contribute to accidents.

Adding to the difficulty here is the intersection rests on the boundary of Centre Wellington and Guelph/Eramosa, with Wellington Road 22 a county responsibility and Highway 6 resting with the province. That’s about four layers of bureaucracy to navigate. Were this simply a county issue we have great confidence it would have been dealt with years ago. But it isn’t and residents deserve better.

As a stopgap interim measure, safety signage should be installed to warn drivers of troubles in the valley. Whoever takes the lead is of little consequence, but someone needs to facilitate that now.

With winter rearing its ugly head, drivers need to be reminded about speed and road conditions. Well placed cruisers would also help dealing with those whose speed imperils the safe travel of others.

Let’s see some action on this file soon – it is long overdue.