Horwath calls for judicial review of Red Hill Valley Parkway

Hamilton NDP MPPs say families deserve answers

Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling for a judicial review into the Red Hill Valley Parkway and a buried report on its safety, and says the Ministry of Transportation must release all reports on Red Hill Valley it has been keeping under wraps.

A newly surfaced 2013 friction test confirms what drivers have known for years — that the parkway’s asphalt is slippery, making it a major safety hazard. Horwath, who is the MPP for Hamilton Centre, and local NDP MPPs Sandy Shaw (Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas), Paul Miller (Hamilton East-Stony Creek), and Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain) say Ontario’s superior court should undertake a judicial review of how safety concerns about the roadway were handled, including the lack of disclosure about the 2013 friction test. Horwath and the Official Opposition are also are calling for provincial Ministry of Transportation friction tests on the roadway, which were referenced in a 2015 public works meeting, to be released now. Those tests were conducted by the ministry shortly after the seven-kilometre parkway was completed.

“Tragedy after tragedy, families were assured that this road was safe despite serious concerns that the asphalt was slippery and a major safety concern,” said Horwath. “We can’t turn back time, but answers might help families devastated by parkway crashes to get the peace and closure they deserve.”

It’s reported that 668 of 994 motor vehicle crashes on Hamilton’s two municipal parkways between 2012 and 2015 were on the Red Hill Parkway. Horwath said the inquiry, as well as transparency on all reports, studies and tests conducted to this point, may help determine how to make the road safe now, and ensure no one else is put at risk.

“We can’t allow any more lives to be put in jeopardy,” said Horwath. “It’s time to do what should have been done at the first sign of substandard safety, get to work making the Red Hill Valley Parkway safe for people.”