Traffic backed up on Hwy. 401 in Dutton following a multi-vehicle crash, August 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy of the OPP)Traffic backed up on Hwy. 401 in Dutton following a multi-vehicle crash, August 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy of the OPP)
London

Hwy. 401 Barrier Battle Comes To London

A Chatham-Kent woman, whose friend was killed in a Hwy. 401 cross-over crash last year, is bringing her fight for concrete median barriers to London.

Alysson Storey, the founder of Build the Barrier, says the 401 safety advocacy group will hold a town hall meeting next month at the Lambeth Community Centre to help increase public support. Storey has been pushing the Ontario government to install concrete barriers in the median of the 401 between London and Tilbury after her friend Sarah Payne and Payne's 5-year-old daughter were killed in a crash near Dutton on August 29, 2017.

"It's called carnage alley for a reason," said Storey of the 136 km stretch of highway west of London. "It is a very old section. It was the first section of the 401 built back in the late 1950s and has been improved very little since then. The median is very, very narrow and it is very dangerous. We have a high volume of commercial traffic like transport trucks and the concrete barriers are the only proven method that stops transport trucks from crossing the median."

The February 7 town hall will be hosted by Elgin Middlesex London MPP Jeff Yurek and will include highway safety experts, first responders, and emergency room doctors. Representatives from the Ministry of Transportation will also be in attendance.

Storey said a portion of the evening will be dedicated to discussing how people can help the cause.

"As most people probably know there is a provincial election coming up in just a couple of months, so this a great opportunity to have our voices heard and these town halls are opportunities for people in the community to learn more about the issue," said Storey. "A collective voice is always stronger than one voice alone, so to have folks showing up and showing their support publicly makes a big difference."

A similar town hall meeting held in Chatham last November drew over 100 people, according to Storey.

Last fall, the province proposed that high-tension cable barriers be installed through Chatham-Kent and into Elgin County. But Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, who is expected to be moved to a different portfolio in a cabinet shuffle Wednesday afternoon, later told Storey the ministry is still considering all possible options.

"The last we heard from (the Ministry of Transportation) was that they were actually considering the concrete option," said Storey. "We are going to keep the heat on them to make sure that is the option they choose. They have indicated in the past that they want the cheaper option as opposed to the safest option and that is not acceptable to us."

The Build the Barriers town hall will begin at 7pm on February 7 at the Lambeth Community Centre at 7112 Beattie St. Anyone planning to attend is asked to RSVP by calling 519-631-0666.

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