Carberry residents decry proposed RCUT as 'dangerous and unsafe' at tense forum over future of intersection
Proponents say design would reduce 'conflict points' at crossing where 17 people died 2 years ago
Transportation engineers presented their plan for a Carberry-area intersection on Wednesday, pushing forward a controversial design that scores of community members rallied against last month.
More than 100 community members confronted officials at a tense public forum at Carberry Collegiate about the fate of the Highway 1 and Highway 5 intersection, where 17 people died in a crash two years ago.
The event was billed as a public open house, hosted by the Winnipeg-based firms Landmark Planning & Design and WSP Canada Inc., on behalf of Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure.
Some community members raised voices, saying they didn't feel like they were being heard, while others interrupted the companies' representatives as they attempted to answer questions from the crowd.
A petition with more than 2,100 signatures was handed to the firms' representatives, imploring the province not to move forward with the RCUT intersection design. In May, more than 100 protesters rallied near the intersection voicing concerns the proposed design would create safety issues and confusion.
A restricted crossing U-turn — or RCUT — at that intersection would mean traffic attempting to cross the Trans-Canada on Highway 5 would have to turn right onto the Trans-Canada, then cross the median by making a left U-turn, before turning right to resume travelling on Highway 5.
Jordan Dickson, who helped organize the May protest, expressed her frustration directly with engineers on Wednesday night, encouraging others to do the same.
"Absolutely no one in attendance is in support of the RCUT," she said.
"It is dangerous and unsafe for this area of the Trans-Canada. Hopefully the province doesn't actually go through with this and they decide to actually spend some money on rural citizens for once," Dickson said, stressing the RCUT will make driving more stressful for farmers driving large trucks and farm equipment along the highway.
Last year, engineers with Manitoba's transportation and infrastructure department shortlisted three potential solutions for the intersection: widening the median, a roundabout or an RCUT.
On Wednesday, the RCUT was presented as the department's "preferred alternative."
Dustin Booy, the transportation department's executive director of highway engineering services, said the RCUT is their top choice because it reduces the number of "conflict points," or areas where drivers cross traffic travelling a different direction, which could make accidents less likely.
"The primary objective of our team is safety. So we looked to the RCUT because its use in other areas have shown quite dramatic results in terms of safety performance," Booy said.
Canada's only RCUT intersection is along Highway 16 near Saskatoon. Booy said they have improved safety in some parts of the United States.
Wednesday's contentious open house was the third and final public engagement event for this project.
Booy said the department will only be presenting provincial leaders with the RCUT as its preferred design for this intersection, but it won't be set in stone until the government weighs in.
An exact cost estimate isn't available yet, but Booy says it could cost about $20 million.
"At this point, it's up to the government to make a decision about how we proceed," he said, adding that the province typically chooses the department's preferred option, but that isn't always the case.
"The local community has expressed a measure of concern with the intersection treatment and that's fair. It's their local community," Booy said.
Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said he was disappointed to see that Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor wasn't at the meeting, after cancelling a stakeholder meeting earlier this week.
Muirhead's council is calling on the province to build an overpass, something community members have been asking for since he first joined local government in the late 1980s.
"Nobody wants the RCUT. We're all opposed to it. We feel that there should be an overpass," he said.
"I think it's time to spend the money and do it right the first time."
The government has previously said it's not considering an overpass because there isn't enough traffic to warrant one.
Community organizer Dickson said transportation engineers should come back in the fall to see how busy the highway gets during harvest season. Booy said his team plans to return in the fall to collect more data.
Despite tensions between engineers and Carberry residents, Debra Steen said this was the first time she felt the community was heard throughout the engagement process.
"Our concerns have been dismissed since Day 1. And I don't think they could dismiss us today. I think the message was clear, the petition is there, and we have our MLA on board," Steen said.
Opposition Progressive Conservative MLA Jodie Byram, whose Agassiz riding includes Carberry, said she agrees that the province needs to consider other options for the intersection.
"I do believe that there needs to be further consultation and review of what it might look like here for this community at [Highway] 1 and [Highway] 5," Byram said.
Mayor Muirhead said he feels like the RCUT may be inevitable, but he's hopeful Wednesday's community turnout will cut the RCUT from consideration.
"I've seen in my experience over the years, that if there's enough of a public outcry … certain situations have changed course. The government seems to find money in certain situations. I'm hoping that will happen here," he said.
Engineer Booy said he hopes community members will keep open minds about the intersection.
"I truly believe in the safety of this solution," he said, hopeful his team can move forward with the RCUT.
"Having said that, it really is just a preferred alternative at this point."
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With files from Chelsea Kemp