CALGARY- A dangerous stretch of highway in Kootenay National Park has been made safer for both wildlife and travellers.
Parks Canada has added fencing and underpasses along a 4.6 kilometre stretch of Highway 93, between the Trans-Canada Highway and Radium.
“We have a real concentration of white-tailed deer along the highway, typically May and June is the peak of it, often in the evenings,” explains Trevor Kinley from Parks Canada. “We can have up to 200 animals visible on the highway within about a 20 kilometer stretch.”
Driver Phil Wallace knows just how dangerous the highway can be, after having an encounter with a deer.
“I’ve struck one myself, and it came right through the windshield,” he remembers, adding he’s seen lots of close-calls. “There are animals crossing the highway constantly, I’ve counted as many as 135.”
The $4.9 million project was inspired by a similar initiative in Banff, which has helped reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by up to 96 per cent. Three new underpasses have been built along with the fencing, and parks staff will monitor the structures with motion-activated cameras.
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