Another collision at Cardiff Road intersection
By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – Rush hour traffic was back up for some time Tuesday night as police, fire and paramedics dealt with the latest collision at the Highway 2 / Cardiff Road intersection.
Morinville RCMP were dispatched to a two motor vehicle collision at the intersection around 5 p.m. Police say a westbound Honda CRV crossed the highway at Cardiff Road and was struck by a northbound Pontiac Grand Am.
Both the passenger and driver of the Pontiac were taken to Edmonton hospital by ground ambulance. The driver of the Honda was not injured.
Charges under the Traffic Safety Act are pending against the driver of the Honda CRV.
The controversial crossing was the site of two serious collisions last July within days of one another. One of the two ended in a fatality.
A planned interchange to remedy the problem has been on hold because of difficulties in acquiring two sections of land.
Council’s most recent update from Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Mureen Kubinec was during the Nov. 27 meeting of Morinville Town Council. At that time Kubinec said the project was ready to be advanced once two parcels and necessary permits had been acquired. Morinville’s Chief Administrative Officer, Debbie Oyarzun, said there have been no updates since that announcement.
The overpass, announced by Kubinec’s predecessor Ken Kowalski in the summer of 2011, was to begin construction in the spring of 2012; however, problems acquiring the two sections of land preventing the project’s commencement.
What is the “difficulty” with acquiring the land? If the property owners are holding out for a large sum of money, I hope they are aware that they’ve only succeeded in putting a price on human life. One life, maybe more in the future. Shame on you.
Yes Morinville Mom, lets not blame the drivers making these critical errors when its a known hazardous intersection, and lets not blame the Transportation Dept and the Town who have a right to block access at this known hazardous intersection…. Instead lets blame the single individual who only wants to protect what is his, after all, single people make easier targets.
As for a price being put on life, its only 5 minutes to the safer intersection (bridge).
Actually MorinvilleMom and Tim, the reason the land can’t be acquired is because the land is in front of the courts. And they don’t need to build an overpass, they just need to shuffle some roads around. Tim, for some, it’s easier to go to the Cardiff/Hwy 2 intersection. Everyone is to blame. Bad judgement on the drivers part, poor “fixing the intersection” by the municipality and province. No one is exempt from the blame
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