New safety measures coming to the 207

Two sets of flashing yellow lights are now set to be installed on Route 207, following a request to Quebec from the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK).

It’s all part of a plan to try and improve safety on the road. Those living there have long complained about speeding drivers from outside communities making use of it to get from point A to point B.

“The yellow flashing lights are to advise motorists on the 207 that there are hidden driveways and hidden roads,” said David Lahache, the MCK’s transport coordinator. “People are driving so fast and most of the time they don’t see that there are roads that join, even though we have intersection signs. The overhead flashing lights would really give people that visual cue to slow down.”

The flashing lights will appear at the intersections of Peter Foxy’s Road and Zachary Road.

Quebec’s transport ministry greenlit the measure following a traffic study carried out earlier this July. Four separate sets of flashing lights were placed along Route 207 over several days then to assess which intersections would keep them permanently.

“The residents on the 207 have been voicing their concerns for the past two, three years, even longer than that,” said Council chief Arnold Boyer, the lead on the transport file. “We’re talking an average of 9,800 vehicles a day on this road, and it’s difficult for residents to come into town because they have to wait a long time for clearance.”

The Quebec-led traffic study also saw flashing lights installed on intersections by Towerline Road and the JFK Quarry. The transport ministry decided against adding flashing lights there, however.

“Those two other intersections did not meet their criteria, which is fine, but we still believe that it’s a safety issue and the more warnings the better,” Lahache said.

Last fall, a community-led petition to the MCK demanding urgent action on Route 207 garnered 80 signatures. It came in reaction then to the death of a motorcyclist struck by a driver near the Mohawk Hills Golf Club, prompting debate at a community meeting.

There’s been numerous collisions since then. In May, a head-on collision near a gas station on the route sent four people to hospital with minor injuries. It happened after a non-local man going southbound toward Highway 30 veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a car being driven by a community member. The local was among those treated by paramedics.

In August, five non-locals were also rushed to hospital after ending up in a ditch by Patton’s Glen golf club. The driver involved had swerved after a car ahead of them braked suddenly.

Tina McComber lives along Route 207 and said the issue comes down to outsiders refusing to respect the posted signage there. The ban on trucks there is rarely enforced, and drivers aren’t respecting the signs at Highway 30 that bar using the road to access the Mercier Bridge from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays.

“They need to stop the non-locals from using it as a short cut,” she said. “It’s impossible that that many people are going to St. Remi. I counted 11 cars passing my road when I was trying to pull out and only two went straight, the rest turned onto the 30.”

A limited number of speed limit and no passing signs is also contributing to problem, she said.

Negotiations continue to be underway between the MCK and the transport ministry over additional measures to make the 50KM road safer. In the long term, the hope is to see the entire stretch from Highway 30 and Highway 138 refurbished, Lahache said.

That proposed work would include entirely replacing the road down to its base, filling in its surrounding ditches, and the installation of a sewer and drain system for the homeowners there (an added plus).

“We want to get the message across that this is a residential area,” Boyer said.

The flashing lights at Peter Foxy’s Road and Zachary Road are expected to appear soon, once the MCK is done shopping around for the best quote.

[email protected]