Prince George, B.C.- “We are really happy and very hopeful." that’s how Trudy Michaloski describes how concerned Beaverly residents are ifeeling with word a brake check on Highway 16 west will be temporarily closed.

 

Michaloski had spearheaded the fight against the brake check that is located on Highway 16,  about 14 kms west of Prince George.

 

She has received word from the Ministry of Transportation that  the Ministry has heard their concerns and will be “covering the regulatory sign” while other work is done, including:

·        looking at the alternate sites suggested during a recent meeting with concerned residents, 

·        revisit its engineering analysis of the current location, 

 

The alternate locations suggested during last Wednesday’s meeting with concerned residents,   were Potato Flats and Bon Voyage. Some residents are wondering aloud if perhaps the McBride Timber Road area is under consideration as some surveying crews have been spotted working in that area.

 

The Ministry also advised Michaloski there is a need for a brake check prior to commercial vehicles reaching Peden Hill in Prince George “and we do not want to compromise safety at other locations along the corridor.”

 

The need for a brake check was underscored last December when a chip truck came perilously close to ending up in the Boston Pizza patio area.

 

Concerned residents had packed the Beaverly Fire Rescue Hall last Wednesday to express their concerns about the safety issues being   raised  since the brake check was put in place over the winter.

 

It was an emotional meeting that drew about 90 people from the area who relayed concerns of the brake check site being “an accident waiting to happen”. They said large trucks were creating a bottleneck pulling into and out of the mandatory check area. Residents talked of their personal experiences of near miss , head on collisions as aggressive drivers behind the slow trucks   pull into the on coming traffic to get around the commercial vehicles. They blame the brake check site for at least two crashes.