Inquiry into Hamilton highway finds collisions could have been avoided if damning report not kept secret

A years-long judicial inquiry has determined several design flaws including tight curves and slippery asphalt on a Hamilton highway contributed to hundreds of collisions, some where people were killed, between 2008 and 2019. 

Justice Herman J. Wilton-Siegel, the inquiry's commissioner, also found that if a damning 2013 report raising serious concerns about friction levels on the Red Hill Valley Parkway (RHVP) had been released to city staff and council before 2019, there would have been fewer accidents and injuries. 

Instead, Gary Moore, then-director of engineering services who requested the report be prepared by Tradewind Scientific Ltd., kept the findings under wraps for six years, the commissioner wrote in his decision released Wednesday. Moore was involved in designing the RHVP.

"It is logical to assume the failure to disclose the Tradewind Report, or the information and recommendations contained in the report, resulted in users of the RHVP being exposed to more risk," Wilton-Siegel's report said. 

"It is also logical to assume that the failure to disclose the Tradewind Report contributed to accidents and injuries on the RHVP since January 2014." 

The inquiry wasn't a trial and didn't make conclusions about civil or criminal liability, but rather was responsible for establishing the facts. It involved collecting nearly 137,000 documents and hearing testimony from 64 witnesses over 80 days, according to the report. 

Teens killed in collisions

As soon as the RHVP opened in 2007, councillors heard from drivers it was hard to see pavement markings, particularly in the dark and in snow, and there was a lack of lighting.

And after heavy rainstorms in 2013, roads maintenance staff flagged "slippery when wet" conditions on the RHVP to the public works department, and said the police and public shared their concern, the report said.

There were 862 collisions on the RHVP between 2013 and 2017, including the 2014 deaths of Aaron Haire, 18, and Kristine Williams, 19, as well as the 2015 deaths of Jordyn Hastings and Olivia Smosarki, both 19-years-old at the time.

In 2017, four families pleaded with council to improve the RHVP and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway, and the city had fielded concerns from residents about the slipperiness of RHVP for years.

Moore had both the Tradewind Report and another 2014 report by Golder Associates Ltd. that reached similar conclusions that friction levels along the RHVP were below expected standards and in some places well below, Wilton-Siegel found. But Moore made comments publicly that contradicted the reports before retiring in 2018.

When the new director took over, he found the reports. Then a freedom of information request was filed requesting documents related to the RHVP's safety, which "elevated the priority" for staff to advise council the reports existed and would be released, the commissioner found.

City has made changes since 2019

When city council learned of the reports in 2019, it ordered the inquiry. It has cost about $28 million, staff reported earlier this year. The RHVP was also repaved and the speed limit reduced to 80 km/h. 

Wilton-Siegel found the RHVP had other flaws that made it dangerous, which the city addressed in 2019. They included a too-high posted speed limit of 90 km/h, tight curves, on and off ramps too close together and no lighting along on-ramps.

Moore's view was that the problem on the RHVP was due to driver behaviour and excessive speeding, and there was "no need for significant changes" in response to safety concerns, the commissioner found.

"Mr. Moore expressed these views, aggressively at times, to staff … including challenging the utility or need for traffic safety countermeasures," said the commissioner.

The culture within city hall's public works department also contributed to the report being withheld, said Wilton-Siegel in a video posted Wednesday morning. Staff didn't collaborate and there were issues related to interpersonal dynamics and workplace culture. 

The city said in a statement Wednesday it has created a temporary chief road official position to oversee planning, design, construction and maintenance of city roads, including the RHVP, as well as a committee to manage the parkway. It's also created a tracking system for external consultant reports and improved its policies to make it clear when they should made public.

Staff will review the inquiry's findings and report back to the general issues committee next week, the statement said.

Mayor Andrea Horwath said residents' trust in the city was "profoundly shaken" as the RHVP revelations came to light. She said the report makes it clear "further work is required" to rebuild that trust. 

"I would like to personally express my remorse to the families who have been impacted by tragic accidents on the Red Hill Valley Parkway," Horwath said in a statement. "I know that lives have been lost and that the release of this report today will be difficult for many. My heart is with them."