Province open to lowering speed limits on parts of Veterans Memorial Highway

Newfoundland and Labrador's transportation minister says reducing the speed limiton a section of Veterans Memorial Highway could happen, butmore consultations are needed before any changes are made.

We make to make sure we do it right and thatit increases safety.- Steve Crocker

Steve Crocker attended a meeting Thursday night with the Conception Bay North Joint Council to discuss ways to reduce crashes on Route 75, which saw four road deaths in less than a month recently.

He said his department has flagged areas that are considered accident "clusters,"with the Jamie's Way turnoff to Harbour Grace being a major oneespecially with increased traffic there due to the new Harbour Grace civic centre.

Crocker is open to lowering the speed limit there, but said more discussionis needed before the 100km/hr limit is reduced.

"That's certainly something where we would be looking for cooperation or consensus from the joint councils and other groups, such as the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary," he said.

At the meeting, other suggestions were put forward on how to get drivers to slow down, includingline-painting changes to eliminate current passing lanes, building a whole new physical lane for passing and additional enforcement.

• Petition submitted to provincial government to put passing lanes on Veterans Memorial Highway

Changing the speed limit is something the department could act on quickly, but Crocker said widening the road to build a new passing lane would take much longer.

"That is something that would be further down the road because it takes time and there would be substantial construction costs," he said.

Crocker said some people at the meeting did express concernabout lowering the speed limit on too long of a stretch of Veterans Memorial Highway, as it could create a bottleneck in some areas creating a whole new set of traffic issues and safety risks.

While all the suggestions about changes are welcome, Crocker said it's important to consider all options before going ahead with a change. He also said ultimately the responsibility to make the roads safe falls on the drivers who use them.

"A lot of the problems we are seeing here are driver habits and the fact that all drivers need to keep safety first and foremost in their minds."