Braking big rigs on Dawson a challenge for council

People in the Dawson Road area of Thunder Bay may have to learn to live with heavy truck traffic.

A report prepared for city council says enforcing any by-law against big rigs would be difficult. The city would need to post warning signs — and that would require approval by the Ministry of Transportation. But that approval may not come easily, as the ministry currently doesn’t permit signs to be set up either at the Dawson Road/Highway-17 junction, or at the Thunder Bay Expressway junction.

Thunder Bay city council will go over the report Monday at its next council meeting.

The report also notes that, even if signs were put up, truck drivers could miss them and proceed down Dawson Road and not have anywhere to turn around.

A letter from the Construction Association of Thunder Bay, which was attached to the city report, said its membership was generally not in favour of weight or load restrictions on Dawson Road.  The letter noted the ministry scale on Dawson Road is used by some truckers to test axle loading — a facility that would no longer be available if the restrictions were implemented.

City staff said one way to manage conflicts between trucks and other vehicles is to have dedicated truck lanes — but this could be problematic, as Dawson road is a two-lane highway between Hazelwood Drive and Dog Lake Road.

Other potential changes to enhance safety along Dawson Road include speed reductions (trucks only), traffic lights and stepped-up enforcement. The report also noted any reduction of posted speeds for trucks would inevitably delay all vehicles along the route.