The collective citizen Safer Highway 6 is acting to demand that Highway 6, which connects Thompson, in northern Manitoba, to Winnipeg, be made safer. This highway is the scene of several collisions each month, according to the pressure group.
A petition of nearly 5,700 names was personally handed over Thursday to Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk at the Legislative Building. The members of the group were also able to exchange him.
On average, there can be 7 to 8 collisions per month on this one-lane highway in each direction that is more than 730 kilometers long, said Safer Highway 6.
The main road was deadly on more than one occasion.
NDP MP for Thompson Danielle Adams was also killed following an accident in December on this same road.
The life of Franco-Manitoban’s mother Daniel Bahuaud was cut short there 19 years ago.
A trucker, possibly due to road conditions or due to snow that reduced visibility, drove into the other lane and collided with my parents ’carsaid Mr. Bahuaud.
According to him, no repairs were made to improve safety conditions following the accident.
Safer Highway 6 has prepared a series of recommendations for the province in its petition and asks it to do work over the next three years, explains a member of the group, Volker Beckmann.
We want to see commitment from the government, this or the next, with a non-partisan approach. We don’t want to embarrass the government, our goal is to reduce accidents and make the road safer for all usershe prompted.
In the petition posted on April 2, the group recommended wide shoulders, stretching paths every 50 kilometers, rest areas and rumble strips at key points.
Besides this, Safer Highway 6 called for faster intervention by emergency services.
The group did not meet its demands. He would have liked to meet with Transport Minister Doyle Piwniuk before the budget is tabled on April 22, Mr. Beckmann said.
After meeting with Safer Highway 6Thursday, Mr. Piwniuk promised to follow up on the requests made, the collective said at a press briefing outside the Legislative Building.
Safer Highway 6 suggested to the Minister that he would drive rather than fly on his next visit to Thompson, to measure the extent of road danger.
A by-election issue with Thompson?
The death of MP Danielle Adams on Highway 6 was, according to Volker Beckmann, one of the triggers for citizen mobilization.
On June 7, a by-election will be held on the riding of Thompson.
Safety on Highway 6 will definitely be an issue in the election.
Advance voting in the provincial by-election on the riding of Thompson will take place on May 31.
Voters can vote at approximately ten polling stations from 8 am to 8 pm
Polling stations will also open at 1 p.m.eh June in Gillam and Nisichawayasik Cree First Nation.
Additionally, voters can start voting early at the returning officer’s office from May 28 to June 4. Voting will take place Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 8 pm and Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm.
Voting by mail and voting at home are also possible options for exercising one’s democratic right.
With information from Anne-Louise Michel
Source: Radio-Canada
