Mayor Clive Tolley is concerned about the safety of the Ninth Avenue Northwest and Highway 1 intersection and wants the provincial government to take notice of that area.
However, staging a mock accident near that intersection involving all three emergency services will not be how Moose Jaw attracts that attention.
During the recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Tolley spoke about his worries with that area and how he recently saw an incident that could have led to many injuries — and even deaths.
This is also an issue that city council discussed during its Sept. 26 regular meeting.
The Ministry of Highways installed automated speed enforcement cameras along that corridor, which have slowed traffic and generated some money for Moose Jaw, Tolley said. However, the municipality needs to find ways to force the province to notice this issue and install traffic lights at that intersection.
Tolley wondered if the Moose Jaw Police Service could work with the Moose Jaw and District Fire Department and EMS personnel to undertake a mock disaster there as one way to catch the ministry’s eye — while also practising for the real thing.
“Do we do anything like that currently? And would that be a reasonable idea to put to the board and talk about?” he asked.
The speed enforcement measures in place have been effective since there have been no serious injuries or fatalities since the cameras were installed, said Police Chief Rick Bourassa. However, that fact seems to contradict data from SGI, which shows the numbers of speeding motorists “are still way too high” as a percentage of vehicles travelling through that zone.
“So we’ve got the speeding vehicles, but we don’t have the collisions any longer. So, it’s a bit of a conundrum in terms of what’s really happening there … ,” he continued. “That is a messy intersection and it’s very confusing for a lot of people not familiar with it.”
While the police often respond to serious collisions there, Bourassa was unsure that a mock exercise was required, considering the agency usually answers such calls in partnership with fire and EMS.
The police chief noted that some members of the MJPS recently attended a mock accident at the Gibson’s Energy refinery as observers.
“Usually, fire is the emergency preparedness body in this city. So, if they wanted to organize something, they could certainly reach out to us,” he added.
Conducting a mock exercise at a busy intersection is typically not something emergency services do because it could create additional accidents, said Supt. Devon Oleniuk. Such activity should be performed in a controlled environment instead of along a main highway.
The Ministry of Highways would have to give permission to close a highway for such an activity but likely wouldn’t do that to an important economic corridor with high traffic volumes, added Supt. Rick McKenna.
“We do need the province to listen to us about that intersection,” said Tolley. “And I’m just trying to think of ways in which we can raise awareness with them. So we’ll continue in the traditional ways.”
The next Board of Police Commissioners meeting is Thursday, Nov. 10.
