Sarnia’s mayor wants westbound transport speed reduced starting at Mandaumin Road

Heather Wright/The Independent

There are more calls for the province to slow down traffic heading to the Bluewater Bridge.

Sarnia’s mayor is calling for a review of the current lane design and traffic management along Highway 402. He sent a letter to Ontario’s Transportation Minister June 29 asking for the review .

The province announced June 26 it would be increasing speeds on most of the 400 series to 110 km/h. That includes the stretch on westbound Highway 402 from Waterworks to 350m east of Colborne Drive, where the speed limit drops to 70 km/h as traffic approaches the bridge.

June 29, Board Chair Greg Grimes said the Point Edward OPP detachment board wants a comprehensive safety review before the change takes place July 31 particularly because of the “unique operational characteristics of this internationally significant transportation corridor and its history of serious and fatal collisions.”

“When you increase the speed, you increase people’s reaction times, their stopping distances, and other factors, and we just think we’re going to go backwards in the progress we’ve been making in improving road safety in that section,” Grimes told The Independent.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, in his letter to the Transportation Minister agreed saying “We continue to receive serious concerns from residents and motorists regarding safety issues associated with vehicles entering and exiting the highway, particularly in areas with high volumes of commercial truck traffic. Several recent incidents have highlighted the risks posed by the existing lane configuration.

Bradley is asking the ministry to review the lanes and design of the westbound 402 into Sarnia. He’s also asking for options to manage truck traffic, improving the safety for passenger vehicles entering and exiting the highway and “speed management strategies in advance of the border crossing.”

The mayor recommended reducing the westbound speed limit for commercial traffic at the Mandaumin Road interchange. “As trucks are already required to slow and queue for the border crossing, a reduced speed in this area would not impact crossing times while improving overall safety.”