Accident on Hwy 28 at Kawartha Dairy involving two vehicles

By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Another accident occurred at the turn into Kawartha Dairy on Hwy 28 on Aug. 4 just before noon. Two vehicles were involved
and both drivers were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries as a result. One driver was charged by the OPP with
careless driving. Ontario Provincial Police Sargeant and Media Contact Erin Cranton comments to The Bancroft Times about
this accident.
According to Cranton, one driver was charged following a two-vehicle collision on Hwy. 28 on Aug. 4.
“Officers responded to the collision just before 11:45 a.m. Two vehicles were involved, and both drivers were transported to
hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Following an investigation, one driver was charged with careless driving under the
Highway Traffic Act,” she says.
Despite the MTO completing an operational performance review or OPR of the highway, along three segments between
Lakefield and Bancroft, they found there was no reason for significant infrastructure changes along the busy route, to the
consternation of many who lobbied for such changes to make the highway safer. The mayors' coalition is urging the MTO to
reexamine the issue and make appropriate changes to improve the safety of the highway in the coming months.
The charge for improving the safety of the highway came from North Kawartha Mayor Carolyn Amyotte, who has lobbied to
do so for the past seven years, after a friend and neighbour was killed in an accident on the highway. The mayors' coalition that
resulted to combat this issue presented a delegation to the MTO at ROMA last year and it was well received and they did a
safety review of the highway last summer. The review looked at existing traffic operations, safety performance, roadway
geometry, roadside elements, and illumination warrants, and it was supported by turning movement counts, speed studies,
collision records, field observations and stakeholder feedback. It found that while vehicle speeds were often near or above the
posted limits, that factor only occasionally contributed to crashes, finding that nearly half of them were wildlife related. While
if food that several segments of the highway performed worse than expected for similar highway facilities, none met the
threshold for severe underperformance and suggested the need for localized monitoring versus any major redesigns to the
highway. However, the mayors' coalition objects to these findings and is asking for further reviews to make substantive
improvement to make the highway safer and less potentially lethal for motorists travelling on it.
The Bancroft Times reached out to Kawartha Dairy's head office about the accident on the highway outside its Bancroft
location, and Sarah Spivey, consumer care manager, made the following comment on Sept. 10; “We're sorry to hear about the accident and our thoughts are with everyone involved,” she says.
Faraday Township Councillor John O'Donnell told The Bancroft Times that he'd conversed with Mayor Dennis Purcell,
saying that Purcell did not have any reports from any emergency services but like him only saw some unsubstantiated reports
on local social media about the collision on Sept. 4. He said that council had discussed the ongoing issue of accidents along this
section of highway at their Sept. 2 meeting and the actions they've taken following previous accidents.
“In CAO [Bernice] Crocker's report, steps have been taken by a number of municipalities to request provincial actions to try
and address this ongoing problem. I will continue to seek input from other municipalities and provincial agencies as soon as
possible and keep you abreast of developments that result from our inquiries … Here's hoping solutions can progress on this
issue,” he says.
Bancroft Mayor Paul Jenkins was out of town when the accident occurred and didn't know the details but did reiterate that a
little over 18 months ago, a coalition of Hwy 28 mayors met with the MTO representatives to voice their concerns over safety
on the highway with a request for improvements.
“A study was completed but the MTO with no physical remediation measures recommended. The Mayors' Coalition was not in
agreement and requested a further investigation - since that time there have been several other serious accidents. Obviously,
something needs to be done!”