Deadly crash renews push for safety upgrades on Lougheed Highway
Posted May 1, 2017 6:36 am.
Last Updated May 1, 2017 9:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – A dangerous stretch of Lougheed Highway could be getting some safety upgrades. The busy road near Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam is the focus of a meeting tonight just days after a head-on crash killed three people including two children.
WATCH: Coquitlam City Council to discuss ways to make Lougheed Highway safer, just days after a crash killed 2 kids and a woman. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/Q6VCfh8XXY
— James Cybulski (@cballnews) May 1, 2017
Coquitlam City Councillor Dennis Marsden says there are a few things that you have to take into account as to what makes Lougheed Highway so dangerous. First, it’s narrow in the area around Pitt River Road, there are no medians, but he argues speed is a major factor.
“It’s a fairly straight stretch. It’s a fairly long stretch between stop lights and people take that as an opportunity to move through there at a fairly decent clip. The speed limit is 70 km/h for a purpose.”
Marsden says some of the proposed improvements that will be discussed include widening a portion of the highway and the installation of a median. “In the near term, I’d like to see some separation of traffic and I’m happy to consider other opportunities that are going to get people to slow down and just make it safer.”
On Friday evening, a 30-year-old woman and two children, age three and nine, died in a three-car crash on the highway. The woman and the children were in separate cars. Five others were rushed to the hospital. No names have been released. Mounties have ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash, but not speed.