Majority of Ontario Drivers Say Safety Has Deteriorated
86 per cent of voters want government to reinvest in road safety
TORONTO, March 25, 2014 /CNW/ - The five companies contracted to provide services under the Ministry of Transportation's Winter Maintenance Program have released new research today[1] demonstrating that a majority of Ontarians want the government to make roads safer.
Overall, the survey by Ipsos Reid conducted March 3 to March 7 of 1,500 Ontarians, found that a significant majority of drivers feel the government should increase spending on highway maintenance to improve the quality and safety of Ontario's highways.
Women, respondents aged 55 and over and residents of Northern Ontario consistently expressed the highest levels of concern about road safety.
The survey shows that by a 2-to-1 margin, Ontario drivers said they find roads are in worse condition now than they were 3 years ago; in Northern Ontario drivers believe that by a 3-to-1 margin.
Fully 86 per cent of Ontarians – including 92 per cent of those 55 and over; and 93 per cent of people living in Central and Northern Ontario – said the government should increase spending to improve safety conditions. When comparing road conditions to recent years, 76 per cent of respondents said conditions worsened this winter.
"This research shows the public believes our roads are not as safe as they were before. We share their concerns," said Geoff Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) and lead for ORBA's Area Maintenance Contractors, referring to the government's 25 per cent reduction in spending on road maintenance. "The government has achieved hundreds of millions of dollars in savings and has not re-invested any of it."
Wilkinson said ORBA is currently meeting with government officials in an attempt to work together to solve these road safety issues.
The OPP has issued a number of alerts and warnings this winter about the "mayhem" on provincial highways and has asked drivers to slow down. There have been several multi-vehicle crashes this winter involving hundreds of vehicles and tractor-trailers in Southwestern, Eastern, Central and Northern Ontario, causing fatalities and multiple injuries and hospitalizations.
The ORBA contractors don't believe there's time for Queen's Park to sit and wait until the end of 2014 when the Provincial Auditor issues a report on the Winter Maintenance Program.
"The time to act is now, before we put more drivers in danger," Wilkinson said.
About ORBA
The Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) is the provincial voice of approximately 200 road building contractors and suppliers. ORBA's Area Maintenance Contractors (AMCs) are the maintenance contractors that perform summer and winter maintenance for the Ministry of Transportation on Ontario's roads and highways. ORBA has shared expertise about road construction and safety issues since its inception in 1927. Our members build and maintain Ontario's provincial highway system, municipal roads and bridges and other public transportation infrastructure projects. ORBA members employ over 25,000 workers in Ontario. We created the Let The Blue Light Lead The Way (www.snowplowsafety.ca) campaign to help educate drivers about safe winter driving around snow plows.
[1] See attached Ipsos Reid Factum
Backgrounder
Area Maintenance Contractors Council
The ORBA Area Maintenance Contractors Council represents members who bid or perform highway maintenance in Ontario under long-term performance contracts.
The Council meets several times per year in direct consultation with the Ministry of Transportation on all matters related to contract provisions and administration, performance of the contract and equitable balance of risk between contractor and owner.
The Mandate of the Council is:
- To work jointly with the Ministry of Transportation on the administration and performance of area maintenance contracts and managed outsourcing including, but not limited to, contracts, specifications, contractor payment, standards and regulation.
- To identify and manage regulatory or other issues that will have a specific and distinct impact on maintenance contractors and which are not being managed by another working committee.
- To support technology development that will improve efficiency and/or productivity in performing maintenance work.
- To support technology development that will reduce the environmental impacts of road maintenance work.
Members
Transfield Services (Canada) Limited
Norjohn Contracting and Paving Limited
Steed & Evans Limited
Miller Paving Ltd.
Transfield Services (Canada) Limited
High Road Maintenance
Carillion Canada Inc.
IMOS
ORBA
About ORBA
The Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) is the provincial voice of approximately 200 road building contractors and suppliers. ORBA's Area Maintenance Contractors (AMCs) are the maintenance contractors that perform summer and winter maintenance for the Ministry of Transportation on Ontario's roads and highways. ORBA has shared expertise about road construction and safety issues since its inception in 1927. Our members build and maintain Ontario's provincial highway system, municipal roads and bridges and other public transportation infrastructure projects. ORBA members employ over 25,000 workers in Ontario. We created the Let The Blue Light Lead The Way (www.snowplowsafety.ca) campaign to help educate drivers about safe winter driving around snow plows.
Backgrounder
Highway Maintenance in Ontario
Ontario's Highway Network
38,600 lane-km of provincial highway; 16,500 centre-line km
Over 2,700 bridges/structures; 29 remote airports and 9 ferry services
Carry about $3 billion of goods every day; every day, about $600M worth of goods cross the border
$59 billion dollar replacement value
Over 432,000 vehicles use Highway 401 near Highway 400 every day, making this highway through Toronto one of the busiest sections of highway in North America
Maintenance
Since the 1970's, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (the ministry) had privatized portions of highway maintenance. In 1996, with the contracted out portion at about 50 per cent, the Ministry or Transportation (MTO) decided to change the way Ontario highway maintenance was delivered.
The objective was to move from in-house government delivery of maintenance services to a fully outsourced, private delivery model.
Up until 1996, MTO had contracted approximately 50% of the winter equipment fleet.
By 2000, all maintenance had been outsourced. Area Maintenance Contracts (AMCs), were developed, which required contractors to perform maintenance in a prescribed geographic area under a lump-sum payment system.
Area Maintenance Contracts (AMCs) include all winter and summer operations, such as snow plowing, salting, sanding, pothole patching, sign repairs and maintenance, electrical devices, pavement marking, bridge washing and guide rail repairs. The AMC Contractors also patrol highways and plan, manage and directing work within area.
Today only three provinces have outsourced road maintenance, British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
About ORBA
The Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) is the provincial voice of approximately 200 road building contractors and suppliers. ORBA's Area Maintenance Contractors (AMCs) are the maintenance contractors that perform summer and winter maintenance for the Ministry of Transportation on Ontario's roads and highways. ORBA has shared expertise about road construction and safety issues since its inception in 1927. Our members build and maintain Ontario's provincial highway system, municipal roads and bridges and other public transportation infrastructure projects. ORBA members employ over 25,000 workers in Ontario. We created the Let The Blue Light Lead The Way (www.snowplowsafety.ca) campaign to help educate drivers about safe winter driving around snow plows.
SOURCE: Ontario Road Builders' Association
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS CONTACT: Bill Walker, [email protected], 416-624-3936
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