Tackling traffic woes in town

As the ongoing issue of traffic caused by construction in Chateauguay continues to cause friction, a few members of the community have decided to take matters into their own hands, a fact that has caused some concern for the Peacekeepers and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK).

Wednesday morning, a post made on the What’s Happening in Kahnawake Facebook page did nothing to alleviate those concerns, as it declared that “All entrances to the village area of Kahnawake will be closed to non-residents from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.”

The MCK responded to the message via press release, stating that it was unofficial and not binding.

MCK grand chief Cody Diabo returned early from the Assembly of First Nations summit in Ottawa to oversee the situation.

“What I would ask for is just collaboration, at the end of the day, and working together and communicating. We can’t just take individual actions,” said Diabo.

He said that while he commended the community members who had made efforts to help the community, efforts might be better served discussing as a community and finding ideas for long-term solutions than residents taking matters into their own hands.

Aaron Delaronde, who has been standing with a few others at the intersection near Karonhianónhnha Tsi Ionterihwaienstáhkhwa for almost two weeks during the evening rush-hour period, decided to take action when traffic had backed up in the area so much that it was making his every day life worse.

“On Monday, I couldn’t even get out of my own driveway. The traffic went back as far as the eye could see,” said Delaronde, who was interviewed during his shift checking traffic on Wednesday afternoon.

The potential danger created by the sheer number of drivers was exacerbated by some of the unsafe behaviours he would see happen - speeding, traffic violations, and more.

“They weren’t even stopping at the stop sign. They were rolling through, going through that one as well,” said Delaronde, pointing to the stop signs on the Old Malone Highway and the Old Chateauguay Road.

On Wednesday, Diabo went to the corner where the stops were being done to see what was going on with his own eyes.

What he found was that, in fact, no blockage of the sort people had worried about following the online post had been implemented. Instead, the checks being made by a few community members for almost two weeks were continuing as they had been, letting locals through and asking non-locals if they were heading to Kahnawake or just passing through.

Those who were not going to Kahnawake were asked, calmly, to turn around and make a U-turn back on the highway.

Diabo was glad to see that those checking where drivers were going were wearing reflective clothing to be seen, and that everything was happening peacefully.   

The Kahnawake Peacekeepers have also been supervising the checks, with a police vehicle parked at the school to make sure everything goes okay.

Diabo spoke with Delaronde, as well as Timmy Sakawennenhawe Montour, another community member who has been helping out with traffic checks.

Diabo came away hopeful that they could communicate better, and even advanced the idea of a more official way of making these stops, which could include trained flagmen from local contractors, like on highway construction sites, instead of residents in reflective jackets, so as to not put more burden on the Peacekeepers.

Delaronde said that he was glad to have the Peacekeepers supervise their stops, and that his intention was to help them, not work in spite of them.

“The Peacekeepers, they can’t be everywhere, right?” said Delaronde.

He said that a few days in, he recognizes most of the cars and drivers that he has let through before, either local residents or non-locals who work in town. He simply waves them through or gives them a thumbs up, and sometimes chats with them.

The rest, he flags down, with a sign of the hand, and asks that they lower their window. He then asked the simple question: “where are you headed tonight?”

For non-locals that, for example, may be going to see a loved one, doing a job for someone, or visiting a business; they get let through.

The rest are asked to turn around and do a U-turn around the large cone installed between the lanes of the street that Delaronde stands by.

He said that a large number of Kahnawa’kehró:non have been vocally supportive when driving through, and most interactions with non-locals have gone well.

Most, but not all.

“Whatever you do, there’s a few people that complain. But, the positives far outweigh the negatives,” said Delaronde.

There was one scary incident Tuesday, shared online by community member Iotsitsanien Goodleaf.

While crossing at the crosswalk with her daughter, a driver, seemingly frustrated at having to wait to be checked, sped around the line and through the stop sign, while berating the community member doing the traffic check, she wrote in her post.

No one was hurt, but it showed that something much worse could have happened.

That potential of serious incidents involving people who may not be trained or sanctioned to deal with them has caused the concern for the MCK and the Peacekeepers.

“We don’t want the situation to escalate. You know, civilians don’t have the kind of training that we do, de-escalation and just dealing with people in general,” said Kyle Zachary, spokesperson for the Kahnawake Peacekeepers.

He said that the Peacekeepers are currently monitoring the situation but have not disallowed the stops as of now.

The Peacekeepers have been placing themselves at certain points where traffic is potentially coming into Kahnawake, redirecting traffic on their end as well. Because of that, Zachary said that officers have had to been taken from other duties to take over traffic at the tail end of their shifts.

“We’re just doing our best to make sure everything stays peaceful. That’s really all that we’re concerned about,” said Zachary.

Diabo said that unclear messaging on social media could aggravate situations where otherwise things are going smoothly.

“People putting things out there, and they maybe aren’t even participating in these kinds of efforts, it’s just adding to people’s anxiety,” said Diabo.

He said that the MCK felt forced to respond online like it did because many concerned residents contacted both the Peacekeepers and the MCK directly to ask about the post.

“That’s not what we want to do. We understand that it’s for public safety and for the kids and the residents. But messages like that don’t help the situation, either,” said Diabo.

Delaronde said he did not know who made the post stating that roads would be closed, or why it was made, but he did not have the intention of doing things differently than he had been in recent days.

He wished that more people from the community would join them, potentially going to other hotspots like Route 207 and backroads that lead onto the OCR.

“It should be a community thing. We shouldn’t have to beg for people here. It’s our duty as Kahnawa’kehró:non, we’re defenders of the land,” said Delaronde.

Construction is set to pause on December 8.

[email protected]