By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Following public pressure from a petition garnering over 1,100 signatures and a letter written by MPP Bobbi Ann Brady demanding that the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) address the issue, some movement is occurring to address the dangerous conditions of the Highway 6 and Haldibrook Road intersection in Caledonia.
In her letter to MTO, addressed to Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and published in The Press, Brady said, “The time for idle talk is past. It’s time for action…. Personally, I lost a friend and his son, both of whom were tragically killed in a collision with a transport truck on Highway 6 near Walpole Concession 11 in 2018.”
Brady highlighted a letter of concern she received from Jessica Hayward, a Caledonia resident who lives on Haldibrook Road, which stated, “I am terrified for my life each time I have to make that left-hand turn.”
“Improving safety on Ontario’s roads is an ongoing priority for our government,” said Aruna Aundhia, Senior Media Relations Advisor, MTO, in a statement to The Press. “Following a Ministry review of recent traffic counts in the area of Highway 6 and Haldibrook Road, we will be implementing traffic signals at this intersection as soon as possible.”
We followed up with a request for more detailed information related to the recent review, or any previous reviews MTO may have completed on the intersection, as well as clarification on an anticipated timeline for the new traffic lights to be installed, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
“I’ve instructed my staff to ask for that review,” said Brady. “There’s this secrecy out there about what these people do. It’s not new. When I worked for Toby, we went through the same thing with the Cayuga bridge. There was always this veil of secrecy where we couldn’t really know what was going on. It continues.”
Brady said she will “continue to hold their feet to the fire,” mentioning plans to follow up with the Transportation Minister at Queen’s Park following Brady’s previous request in the summer for movement on the Argyle Street Bridge replacement: “I could in general ask about some of these other Highway 6 issues as well and infer about the secrecy and why we can’t get a firm grasp on what is going on.”
She concluded, “There are traffic issues all around Haldimand County, specifically Highway 6. We deserve to have the answers as to what the government is looking at.”
Hayward spoke further with The Press about her letter.
“This particular corner is very busy with no traffic safety, other than short turning lanes going north and south on Highway 6 to turn onto Haldibrook Road,” she explained, noting the extra commotion at the intersection due to people turning in and out of the gas station there, and its use as “a major artery for traffic coming from Highway 56 to Highway 6.”
She said she has seen many accidents happen there, including one just two weeks ago where a serious accident shut down a portion of the highway. Her fears over the intersection are amplified by seasonal issues: “At 5:30 p.m., it’s dark and the roads are slick. You can feel the car moving with every car that speeds by, then I have to make that turn and hope I don’t get hit with the next speeding car.”
“I have heard too many stories from my neighbours knowing people who have gotten hit at that corner, or even died. I don’t want that to happen to any of my friends or family coming to visit us or leaving our house,” she added.
After her and Brady’s letters, the MTO called Hayward directly: “They stated this corner has been on their hitlist for some time now and they will be flagging it as a priority as they now have the funds to move forward with a new traffic design.”
Hayward took to social media to share news of the update with her community, garnering a large response.
“I hoped this would give people some peace of mind that something would be fixing the issue soon. I got a lot of great feedback!” she explained. “However, someone did mention they also had sent an email almost 10 years ago to the MTO and they also got a call saying the funds were available now and they were making that corner a priority – and nothing came from that. So now I am questioning what the Ministry told me, until we actually start to see some action.”
