Wide turns leaving Ayr residents short on patience with transport truck traffic
People living in the community of Ayr say they are dealing with a safety concern due to transport trucks travelling through their downtown.
“As you can see, the turn radius here is really small and there's been damage to the concrete several times by trucks trying to make the corner,” North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton said as a large transport truck turned left from Northumberland Street to Stanley Street.
She says the three-way intersection often leads to trucks swerving into oncoming lanes and mounting the curb.
“They're coming right up on the sidewalk. I had I had to yell at a truck that was on this curb here the other day,” Foxton said.
Foxton said with Trussler Road less than 500 metres away she can’t understand why trucks are choosing a route through Ayr.
“The logic is beyond me. Trussler Road is only 300 meters past Northumberland street, so why they are going there? It's beyond me.” Said Foxton.
A map shows the distance between Northumberland St. and Trussler Road.
Jeff Trupp works at nearby Hitched Coffee and said he has seen the safety issues firsthand.
“About two months ago a truck hit the pole turning the corner and the fender flew off and went right over my head across the street,” said Trupp.
Although the intersection is in North Dumfries Township, Northhumberland Street and Stanley Street are regional roads and any changes will need to come from the Region of Waterloo.
“I decided to put forward a motion just to make sure everyone knew it was on the table and we could get a report started and find some interim measures,” Region of Waterloo Councilor Kari Williams said.
She says the motion will look at short term plans like putting in place “truck bypass” signage to divert trucks to Trussler Road.
Williams says the motion will also look at if a truck ban on Northumberland Street in Ayr is possible.
“The second part of the motion is an actual study to see if a truck ban is appropriate, and I think even just looking into the space and size of downtown,” Williams said.
William's motion goes before regional council next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III will return to public duties on Tuesday when he visits a cancer treatment charity, beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch’s own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.
Archeologists search for remnants of Halifax's 250-year-old wall that surrounded the city
Archeologist Jonathan Fowler is using ground-penetrating radar to search for historic evidence of the massive wall that surrounded Halifax more than 250 years ago.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Kazakhstan arrests ex-interior minister in connection with unrest that left 238 dead
Authorities in Kazakhstan arrested a former interior minister on Tuesday, in connection with deadly police crackdown on unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.