Delay in 207 safety measures 

Traffic calming measures to improve safety along Route 207 are only expected to be put in place by the spring, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Ryan Montour confirmed.

Those measures include yellow flashing lights set to be installed on four intersections along 207, the lead on community safety shared. He said delays revolve around waiting on orders to come in.

“If Transport Quebec were to come in tomorrow, we'd put them up that same day if we could, because obviously we're trying to mitigate the issues,” Montour said.

The lights will warn motorists of hidden driveways and connecting roads in the hope of getting them to slow down. Speeding is a persistent problem on the 50-KM road, which has seen 28 collisions on it since January, according to the Kahnawake Peacekeepers. 

The Eastern Door was previously told by the MCK that Quebec’s transport ministry had recommended installing yellow flashing lights on Zachary Road and Peter Foxy Road following a traffic study. It was carried out in July and included the installation of temporary flashing lights alongside cameras. 

The transport ministry has since said it didn’t recommend installing any flashing lights along the 207.

Other recommendations did come out of their traffic study, however. They include trimming a section of trees on the road, the installation of signs warning of approaching stop signs, and the repainting of lines on the road. 

Montour shared those improvements are also only expected be in place by the spring. Line painting, for instance, isn’t possible to do in the winter, he said.

In addition to those measures, Montour said there’s a plan to install stop lights in the section of the 207 currently patrolled by peacekeepers in the mornings. 

The MCK has updated numerous traffic signs along the 207 over the year, he added, but the only thing that’s consistently proven to slow down drivers is the presence of Peacekeepers in area.

“There's a multitude of proactive steps we did,” Montour said.

A specialized traffic division made up of eight Peacekeepers will soon be created to patrol the territory. It will still take until at least next year before the unit is up and running, as those hires will first need to undergo training.

Many other measures are also being considered to improve safety along the 207, Council chief Jeremiah Johnson said. They include the installation of speed radar cameras, implementing tolls, as well as a police-enforced ban on non-local traffic during certain hours.

“It has to be a multifaceted approach. We're not just talking about one thing and hoping it's going to work. We have to approach it in many different ways,” Johnson told The Eastern Door in an interview earlier this month.  

Many living along the 207 have long called on the MCK to find ways to limit non-local drivers from using the artery to get to Mercier Bridge. 

They include Phil Jacobs, whose dump truck was hit earlier this month by the driver of a speeding Dodge Grand Caravan. The collision on October 16 sent multiple non-locals to hospital with minor injuries. The road also had to be closed in both directions for five hours then, after a puncture to Jacobs’ tank led to a leak of diesel fuel. 

He said the recommendations issued by Quebec don’t go nearly far enough. The only solution is to find a way to limit outside traffic.

“They’re useless by any stretch of the imagination. They don’t follow the double solid lines or the speed limits. Flashing lights mean nothing,” Jacobs told The Eastern Door. “Transport Quebec is only paying lip service to the Council to keep the road open for the people coming through the reserve.” 

He’s since requested a meeting with MCK grand chief Cody Diabo to discuss measures he has in mind to make the road safer.  

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