Every now and then a semi-truck gets stuck under the Winnipeg Street underpass just south of 8th Avenue.
The clearance is 3.8 metres. Back in June, Coun. John Findura put forward the idea of also displaying the height in feet and inches.
City officials have talked with people in the trucking industry and are now saying the signage should remain metric only.
“The thought being that if we posted in both dimensions, it’s more information for someone to look at on a sign because you want to keep it simple,” Norman Kyle, City of Regina roadways and transportation director, said.
This doesn’t mean new signage won’t be popping up around the underpass. Due to slopes on both sides, the city is investigating other measures to prevent semi accidents.
“Looking at all the factors, it’ll help us to determine if we need to put up additional warnings, or warning devices,” Kyle said.
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He acknowledged it could be challenging to figure out the proper location for potential warning devices, due to intersections just before the slope on both sides of the underpass.
City officials will also look into accident reports and consult groups such as the Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA).
STA Executive Director Susan Ewart said the slopes at the underpass are a locally known issue, but would like to see more information for out-of-towners.
“If the city put a little more information on their website, this is a truck route, but this underpass has had issues for us, and more information for them, because they’re not going to know,” Ewart said.
Until a solution can be established, Ewart said the STA believes an alternate route or establishing a pull-over station for drivers to measure trucks could be beneficial.
It is a truck driver’s responsibility to know how tall their truck is, but Ewart explained that there are variables that can alter a truck’s height enough to make it too tall during a trip.
“The weather will change your tire pressure, you’ve got airbags on trailers that will create suspension so the loads not shifting back and forth. So all of these things are factors to consider,” she said.
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