VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT PAGE 3
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OTTERS TAKE TO WATER PAGE 9
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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
CRUISIN’ IN STYLE After a quick pit-stop at Black’s Pharmacy on Quilchena Avenue, Stuart Heppner and his daughter Evelyn hit the streets on a recumbent bicycle during a hot Saturday afternoon in downtown Merritt. Michael Potestio/Herald
Truck traffic to continue on Hwy 5A By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
A ban or limits on commercial trucks on Highway 5A is not necessary, according to a report released by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The report, released Thursday, states ministry efforts over the last three years to improve safety
of drivers on the 5A have reduced the number of serious collisions involving commercial vehicles by half. It was these serious collisions that inspired the changes in the first place, a press release from the ministry stated. Last October, a rig carrying logs crossed the centre line on the highway, striking a vehicle hauling
concrete head-on. Both drivers were killed in the collision. That crash — and others like it — prompted former Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger to champion a petition to ban or limit truck traffic on the route. Krueger brought the petition, which collected 1,400 signatures, before the B.C.
legislature in the spring, but those measures aren’t necessary at this time, the report found. “The reality is no all-out truck bans on the highway, which I understand,” Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area M director Randy Murray said. “There’s an issue of fairness and what people have rights to do on their high-
ways. But the whole objective for me, from the beginning, was to raise awareness about the safety concerns of the local residents who live and work out that way.” Speed limits for commercial and non-commercial vehicles will also stay the same. The report says commercial vehicle speeding has dropped by 70 per cent in three years, and
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different speed limits can lead to dangerous passing manoeuvres around slower trucks. Some of the improvements to the winding, 84-kilometre route between Merritt and Kamloops include rumble strips, guard rails, speed warning signs, and curve markings.
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