Regina residents say water leak, speeding on Lewvan Drive leads to multiple collisions

A group of Regina residents who live adjacent to Lewvan Drive said they don’t feel safe on their own properties after a series of collisions severely damaged the fence between their back alley and the busy road.

According to residents on Edward Street, four separate collisions involving upwards of 10 vehicles took place in a span of five days just outside their back doors.

Resident Bernie Tworkowski said he narrowly escaped injury on Thursday night when an SUV mounted the curb and smashed into the fence directly behind him.

“I was taking stuff out (of my truck) and taking it in, and I heard a skidding sound,” Tworkowski recalled.

“I heard a big explosion, then I looked up and I [saw] the vehicle heading at me.”

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The residents believe a water main leak at Lewvan Drive and Dewdney Avenue may have contributed to the collisions.

“By around five o’clock at night when it gets freezing, it’s just a skating rink out there,” resident Jamie Farrell said.

“It’s nerve-wracking. It’s getting scary to walk down the alleyway.”

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Pat Wilson, director of waterworks with the City of Regina, said the city is aware of the leak and is working to fix it.

“We have a small leak, a very slow leak, but it’s on a very big line,” Wilson said.

“Our underground infrastructure can break and we can wind up with water on the street without advanced notice.”

The east lane of Lewvan Drive just north of Dewdney Avenue has been shut down until repairs can be made on the weekend of Dec. 3. In the meantime, the speed limit has been reduced to 40 km/h.

However, residents on Edward Street fear that the collisions will continue even when the leak is repaired due to drivers speeding.

“We’ve asked the city many times for another fence, a privacy fence, or any kind of a guard rail and it’s always been turned down. They said there’s not enough room,” Farrell said.

“We don’t know what can be done other than reduce the speed limit,” Tworkowski added.