Stratford mayor calls for better ways to deal with bridge accidents

The mayor of Stratford, P.E.I. is working with police and fire departments, Island EMS and the Department of Transportation to find a way to clear up accidents more quickly on the Hillsborough Bridge.

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"Whenever there's an accident obviously that causes a lot of disruption to the travelling public," said David Dunphy, who brought the group together about a month ago. 

"A lot of our residents work in Charlottetown, the delay sometimes causes issues for buses, school buses, so that's been relayed to us."

According to the provincial website, more than 34,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily, in the most recent statistics from 2016. 

Dunphy says it's important to find ways to minimize disruption when an accident occurs, especially during the busy morning and evening commutes.

"We understand the number one priority is for the emergency service crews to look after what's going on with the accident but once that is secure, how can we get the flow of traffic moving quickly," Dunphy said.

"Are there solutions there in terms of flow of traffic, maybe having two lanes going in and one lane going out either way when there's an accident scene."

Clearing accidents 'effectively'

Dunphy says a lot of discussion has revolved around communication.

"What we can do in terms of media advisories, messaging on the bridge through signage or through social media, to let them know there is an accident," Dunphy said.

"If people are aware there's an accident maybe they'll leave a little bit later."

The group also talked about ways to clear the accident scene more effectively. 

"If a car needs to be towed, something as simple as getting the closest tow truck to go to the accident scene," Dunphy said. 

Dunphy says they're also talking about how to deal with a detour situation if the bridge is blocked. The closest route would take motorists through Mount Stewart.

"Hopefully that never comes to be," Dunphy said. 

"But if there was some kind of an environmental contamination or some kind of event that caused the bridge to close, then we have to have something in place that lets people know that there is a detour or how long the bridge is going to be closed and a protocol that determines when that will happen."

Dunphy says the group has had a couple of meetings so far and will continue to meet to work on solutions.

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