Highway parking creating safety hazard

Mac Olsen
South Peace News

Large trucks and other vehicles that park along Highway 2 in front of Freson IGA and Horizon Credit Union create blind spots for vehicles pulling out onto the main street. Checking with the Horizon Credit Union confirms that staff members are concerned about large trucks parking in front of that building. “You absolutely cannot see something that’s coming down the road. It’s horrible trying to get out,” says Carolin Robinson, the manager of member services for the Horizon Credit Union. The danger is not as bad in the early morning hours as later in the day. At 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 6, a large B-train truck was parked in front of the credit union, and a tractor-trailer unit was parked near the Raven Motor Inn. There was very little traffic in the area at that time of the day, and it was possible to see between the large trucks. However, had those trucks been parked in those locations later in the day, drivers pulling out of the credit union parking lot would have been at a higher risk of getting into an accident because of the large blind spot posed by the B-train. A similar situation exists with the curb by the IGA parking lot. At about 3:30 p.m. that day, two school buses were parked temporarily at that curb, and a truck was trying to make a left turn out of that parking lot. The driver got out onto the street without incident, but the buses still caused a blind spot. This brings up the subject of whether large commercial trucks should be banned from parking along that stretch of road, or if all traffic should be banned from parking there. Speaking on her own behalf, Robinson says she is in favour of a bylaw restricting commercial trucks from parking on main street. But Cpl. Mike Nussbaumer of the High Prairie RCMP Detachment says there is no pattern of accidents on that stretch of road in relation to commercial trucks parking there. He also notes they are legally allowed to park there. What about permanently blocking off the main street entrances into the parking lots of Freson IGA, the Horizon Credit Union and other businesses along that stretch of road? This would mean forcing drivers to use the alleys or entrances off the side roads to get into those parking lots. It would also mean that vehicles would not risk getting into accidents with the entrances along that stretch of road blocked off. But several business owners and operators interviewed are not in favour of this option. “I don’t want to inconvenience my customers by forcing them to use the side streets,” says High Prairie Freson IGA general manager Matt Lovsin. He also comments that the residential areas behind the store could become congested with traffic if the main street entrances are closed off. He adds that he is more concerned about speeding along the main street. Fadia Mouallen, owner of Curly’s Restaurant, says it would be too inconvenient for her customers to have the main street entrance to her business blocked off. She also says that the side streets and alleys are in poor condition. In addition, she gets a lot of business from truck drivers. “For sure, I would lose a lot of business from truck drivers (if they couldn’t park on the main street),” says Mouallen. Gord Olson, the president of the High Prairie Chamber of Commerce, says he would be concerned about the negative economic impact to the businesses along the main street. However, he is concerned about large vehicles obscuring traffic. “I am personally nervous pulling out onto the highway when there are large vehicles obscuring your vision,” he says. But Olson adds that large recreational vehicles pose the same hazard. He suggests finding a way to address traffic safety concerns while ensuring that the economic benefits of the through traffic are not lost. Town manager Larry Baran, too, comments that banning commercial trucks from parking on this stretch of road would have a negative impact on the businesses. Baran says he does not want to see truckers take their business to Slave Lake, and suggests building a commercial truck stop. “I would love to work with other developers to (build) a fully-fledged truck stop here,” Baran says. Peter Rogers, the lead hand for Grimshaw Trucking in High Prairie, says that having a commercial truck stop near High Prairie would help. Rogers also says the Grimshaw truckers stop at the curbs by the Horizon Credit Union and Freson IGA. He agrees that the company’s trucks pose a blind spot for other vehicles there. “There is a hazard there, and it’s always been that way. I’d like to see (the trucks) keep parking there, but I can see why it shouldn’t be,” says Rogers. When possible, he parks his commercial truck well out in front of IGA, so that it’s not close to either intersection, to increase the other vehicles’ visibility out of that store’s parking lot. Rogers would be in favour of setting time limits for trucks to park along there. The town council has dealt with this issue before. Coun. Mike Daubert says the parking issue was put to a plebiscite in October 1998, before his first term on council. He also comments the wording of that plebiscite was unclear as to whether it meant all traffic or just commercial transports. He adds citizen safety is the town council’s number one priority. The exact text of the plebiscite read as follows: “Should council pass a bylaw to prohibit parking on Primary Highway #2, within the Town of High Prairie.” The results of that plebiscite were 415 votes in favour, and 328 against. In effect, 56 per cent of voters favoured the ban. While the results were not binding, Diana Oliver, the mayor at the time, said that a strong vote in favour of a parking ban would certainly mean that the Town of High Prairie would have to look at it. Ultimately, for whatever reason, the town council did not pursue the issue further.

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