Editor: Re: 200 St. interchange poorly designed, (The Times, May 18).
This interchange was poorly designed from the get-go, but it’s too late, given today’s fiscal climate, to change it much. The southbound left turn onto the freeway on-ramp had no bearing on this accident, as it was clearly an improper loading that caused the truck to flip.
A professional TransLink supervisor witnessed it and stated clearly the truck was being driven slowly around the corner. Someone back in the truck loading yard owns this one.
Second to that, I have to congratulate the ministry of transportation for its totally excellent design of the new truck weigh scales on Highway 97, just south of Prince George. It’s built on a hillside with a long uphill approach ramp helping the drivers slow down by gravity.
The same thing happens when leaving the scales. They have all the room in the world to have gravity assist to get them up to merge at speed with the other traffic on Highway 97.
Not only that, but they have at least a half mile of designated laneway on either side that is for their use only. To top it off, they have warning lights to advise the other traffic that a truck is about to merge into their left lane.
I guess this is what you get when there is lots of cheap land surrounding a traffic project and the money grubbers don’t have a chance to hike the prices so high that public safety agencies are forced to take a back seat.
In my opinion, this is a large part of the problem when approaching the Port Mann Bridge on Highway 1, now and in the past. With the confusion and fear on the part of the motoring public, and bullying by ignorant truck drivers merging back onto Highway 1 with no chance to do so properly due to space confinements, no wonder we have traffic snarls.
Our safety should never be compromised for the benefit of land developers.
Jeff Laurie,
Langley
