By Mike Anderson
Pefferlaw resident George Robertson, 88, was killed on December 6 when his car was T-boned by a passenger vehicle traveling north on Highway 48 while he attempted to cross at Old Homestead Rd, OPP reported on December 9.
According to his family, Robertson was driving westbound on his way to Canadian Tire in Keswick to buy a new snow brush for his car.
The stop signs on Old Homestead Rd require motorists to come to a complete stop and wait until the way is clear before driving across the highway.
However, motorists must move past the stop signs to gauge the speed of northbound traffic on Highway 48 as it descends from the top of the hill. Residents say this is often challenging as many vehicles exceed the 80 km/h speed limit.
Residents also complain that the lack of a double yellow line through the intersection promotes unsafe passing, as motorists will cross the median to overtake a vehicle slowing down to turn onto Old Homestead Rd.
While the OPP investigation is ongoing, Robertson’s family blame the intersection for their father’s death, and say friends and neighbours often avoid it, especially in the summer, because it is dangerous to cross.
They want the MTO to conduct a thorough safety audit and consider implementing measures to make the intersection safer, such as building an underpass or roundabout.
Brian Robertson, 63, George’s son who now lives in the U.S., says that despite his advanced age, his father was an experienced driver and familiar with the intersection.
“He wasn’t your average 88-year-old. He was always busy, doing something,” Robertson said.
“He drove everywhere and never had an accident. He was an amazing driver. He drove a transport trailer his whole life.”
Lorraine Pollock, 61, Brian’s sister, one of seven siblings, says the other driver, a 35-year-old woman from Shelbourne, who had non-life-threatening injuries, may not have been aware she was approaching an intersection below the hill.
“If you live around here, you know about it. But, that poor girl was from Shelbourne; she probably didn’t realize there was an intersection coming up,” Pollock said.
Both siblings believe the intersection is unsafe, and it is time the province did something about it.
“Anybody who pulls up to that stop sign is paranoid crossing the highway,” Robertson said.
“If someone is coming southbound, you can see forever, but northbound traffic is the problem.”
“You feel like you have enough time, but you get going, and then you don’t have enough time,” Pollock added.
Robertson says the intersection, which was always considered dangerous, got worse with the completion of the Highway 404 extension.
“The string of traffic is consistently heavier, and they’re moving faster. They come off Highway 404, race across Ravenshoe Rd, and head up 48. They never did change the speed limit there. They should have slowed it down years ago,” he said.
“If you go further back, you’ll realize how many people have been injured or even killed at that intersection.”
“It’s not a rural road. It’s a highway. MTO should do more to protect people who are crossing. One cop told my mom he’d been called to the same intersection three times in the last six months.”
Robertson wants the province to build an underpass, although he acknowledges it would be costly.
In the meantime, he wants the speed limit to be reduced and enforced by the police. He also wants to see flashing lights installed to warn motorists driving up the hill that there is an upcoming intersection.
“They should have dealt with it a long time ago. You can’t tell me they didn’t have the money to do something there. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
Currently, one sign on the northbound lane warns motorists about the intersection. However, it’s located at the base of the hill, roughly 100 metres before Old Homestead Rd.
While the Post asked MTO to provide accident data for the intersection, a spokesperson said the ministry could not comment on details as the collision is under investigation, although it will continue to monitor the intersection for potential improvements.
However, according to Ward 4 Councillor Dale Genge, improvements previously promised by MTO have not been implemented.
Genge says she requested MTO address safety issues last year after a concerned resident contacted her.
In a letter, dated June 14, 2023, MTO told Genge it had conducted a technical review of the section of Highway 48 near the Old Homestead Rd intersection and had decided to install double solid yellow pavement markings.
“This will remove existing passing opportunities northbound and southbound and emphasize that passing is not permitted in this section of Highway 48,” the letter reads.
But, despite promising to make the change, MTO never installed the markings.
After the lines were repainted on Highway 48 last summer, without the addition of the double yellow line, Genge says she contacted
Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria, but never received a response.
“I waited; I figured it would included when MTO repainted the lines. But when they did repaint, it wasn’t done,” Genge said.
Genge says she will follow up again with Minister Sarkaria, but stresses that a more drastic solution is needed.
“The double yellow line is an interim step. However, eventually, they must remove some of that hill because people are coming over it too fast,” she said.
“All we can do is keep pushing them. It’s a provincial highway. And MTO has to fix it. If we get enough people complaining, something will happen.”
While her family is struggling to deal with the tragic loss of her father before Christmas, Pollock hopes his death won’t be in vain.
“The one positive thing that might come out of this is that it gets fixed for the next person. That’s all we ask,” she said.
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