Expect more police on the Red Hill Valley Parkway over the next 3 months

Hamilton police will ramp up patrols on the Red Hill Valley Parkway (RHVP) over the next three months, at least until the city can repave a portion of the roadway that a hidden 2013 report deemed slipperier than ideal.

Frank Bergen, deputy chief of Hamilton Police Service, says there'll be extra patrol cars on the stretch over the next 90 days.

"We are absolutely already on these expressways," Bergen told the police services board Thursday. "But specific to the concerns of the Red Hill and the (Lincoln Alexander Parkway), we will give that added attention."

Bergen said the service is still talking to the city about how to pay for the extra patrols.

The city asked for more enforcement. The request came after councillors learned last month that a 2013 report about the friction of the asphalt of the RHVP was below U.K. safety standards. 

Councillors immediately pushed ahead plans to repave a portion of the highway. The city also lowered the speed limit to 80 km/h from 90, and is getting legal advice before it embarks on some sort of external investigation. Council voted on Feb. 13 to do the latter within 30 days. It's meeting with a lawyer on March 20.

Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, also Hamilton Centre MPP, wants a judicial inquiry.

"Hamilton families are shocked by the recently uncovered 2013 friction test report questioning the safety of this expressway," Horwath said in a statement Thursday.

"For years, families were assured that this road was safe despite serious concerns, and even after tragedies devastated lives. This report could have exposed the critical failures of the expressway while lives hung in the balance. 

"A judicial inquiry can shed light into many years of what Hamiltonians see as questionable claims about the safety of this roadway and finally bring justice, and some closure, for families who suffered injuries or lost loved ones."

Coun. Sam Merulla of Ward 4, meanwhile, pointed out that Ontario's Ministry of Transportation had a friction test it didn't make public either, so the province should apologize too.

Families of people who died on the highway have been calling for more safety measures. The city has done millions in upgrades since 2015, and hired a company to do a follow-up report earlier this year on the 2013 report.