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Cottage Life

Ontario government proposes fines for overtaking snowplows on highways

Photo by Shutterstock/Benoit Daoust

Passing a slow-moving snowplow may cost you, if the Ontario government passes its newest bill.

On April 3, the provincial government introduced its Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act 2023. The bill includes 42 initiatives that, if passed, are intended to improve public services, grow businesses, and save people time.

One of the proposed initiatives is an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act. The amendment would make it an offence to overtake working snowplows in a diagonal formation on a multi-lane highway with a posted speed limit of 80 km/h or higher. The fine for passing would be between $150 and $1,000.

“The proposed amendments are intended to reduce unsafe passing maneuvers and collisions occurring by motorists overtaking snowplows performing winter maintenance activities on these roadways. Fewer collisions with snowplows will result in improved safety for snowplow operators and the travelling public, fewer snowplows being placed out of service, and less impact on snow clearing activities on these highways,” the province said in a statement.

Drivers would only be allowed to pass the snowplow if a full lane was available to complete the maneuver. This means that if plows are working in each lane of the highway, you can’t maneuver into an oncoming lane to get around them. In fact, the government says that passing a working snowplow even if a lane is available can be dangerous.

Visibility around the snowplow is often reduced due to blowing snow and the snow ridge created by the plow. And while most plows discharge snow to the right, there are some vehicles that discharge to the left, blocking passing lanes. Plus, it’s likely the road ahead hasn’t been cleared.

Instead, it’s recommended that you wait until plows have cleared your route before hitting the road. But if you do get stuck behind one, stay approximately 10 car lengths back and be patient.  The plow may pull over and let you pass.

The provincial government is asking the public to weigh in on the snow plow amendment before the new act is voted on. You can leave a comment here until May 18.

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Cottage Life

Elaborate search continues for cow lost on the Trans-Canada last spring

Photo courtesy Jennifer Teresinski

A cow stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway south of Wawa, Ontario, since last spring has become a local phenomenon and the subject of an elaborate rescue plan. The single steer is believed to be the last of a truckload of an estimated 50 cows that were destined to a slaughterhouse when the truck transporting them drove off the road on May 14, 2022. Cattle were spotted alongside the highway near Old Woman Bay for several months, and by August all but five were either rounded up or euthanized.  

Sault Ste. Marie-based rancher Jennifer Teresinski is one of several locals interested in rescuing the steer, which has been observed roaming the highway shoulder just north of Old Woman Bay, in Lake Superior Provincial Park, as recently as Christmas. Terensinski drives the highway weekly, watching for signs of the animal and working with counterparts from Wawa in leaving hay, corn, and oats in hopes of keeping the steer alive while resources are assembled for a rescue.

With baiting stations already in place, Teresinski says a crew is ready to set up a temporary corral to get about “cowboying, ranching, and doctoring” the cow, which she’s already named Tucker. There’s a “stock trailer and team ready,” Teresinski adds. “We have an arborist, snow machines, ranchers, and ropers ready. Tranquilizers are ready if needed, medical care supplies are packed and ready.”

Sneak a peek at wildlife using overpasses

Teresinski has also lined up the services of a local large-animal veterinarian to check over the steer before it’s delivered to its “forever home,” a friend’s hobby farm in the community of Echo Bay, just east of Sault Ste. Marie. “Tucker is in the bush doing his thing,” says Teresinski, the owner of Wild Hearts Ranch. “He’s using his survival instinct and his body is in the dormant stages for winter to hold heat and fat. I think he has a chance to survive out there. It’s humans who are deciding his fate, and that affects his options more than wildlife predators.”  

Teresinski believes the time has long passed for the transport company to meet its obligation under the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to round up the entire load of cattle. “We decided after the Christmas snowstorms to keep searching,” she says. “We are networking and travelling, planning snowshoe trips. There’s no time limit, just a focus to get the cow back to a normal life at a rescue farm.”  

Watch a beaver lead a herd of cattle across a Saskatchewan field

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Categories
Cottage Life

The Ontario government to introduce Swedish-style 2+1 highway to cottage country

Photo Courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation

The Ministry of Transportation issued a request for proposals for a 2+1 highway pilot on Highway 11. But what exactly does that mean?

In May of 2018, Mark Wilson travelled to Sweden to examine the country’s highways. Not the most touristy attraction. But as it turns out, Sweden has developed a highway system, known as the 2+1 road design, that could benefit Northern Ontario.

“The purpose of the trip was to gain information to determine the feasibility of implementing 2+1 road profiles in Northeastern Ontario, particularly on the Trans-Canada, Highway 11,” Wilson, a member of Going the Extra Mile for Safety (GEMS), a road safety advocacy group in Northern Ontario, wrote in a report.

He spent five days driving 1,200 kilometres along 2+1 roads, capturing dashcam footage and photographic material. His conclusion: It’s a road design worth implementing in Ontario.

A 2+1 road is a three-lane highway with a centre passing lane that changes direction approximately every two to five kilometres. The oncoming lanes are separated from one another by a steel median. The design is intended for smaller highways that see fewer than 20,000 vehicles on the road each day.


Sweden introduced the design in the early 1990s as the country was experiencing high rates of traffic fatalities and serious injuries, particularly on its two-lane highways where head-on collisions were being caused by people trying to pass. The design was part of Sweden’s Vision Zero road safety program, which operated under the assumption that humans will make mistakes while driving, so the road systems need to be designed to mitigate human error.

At the time of Wilson’s visit, Sweden had built 3,000 kilometres of 2+1 roads and seen a 75 to 80 per cent drop in its road fatality rate.

GEMS, which was created in 2016, in cooperation with the Temiskaming Shores and Area Chamber of Commerce, has been lobbying the Ministry of Transportation for the last six years to introduce the 2+1 design on Highway 11, which begins in Toronto as Yonge Street, extending north through Muskoka, North Bay, and other sections of Ontario’s cottage country. The majority of Highway 11 between North Bay and Temiskaming Shores is an undivided, two-lane highway.

According to GEMS, there are eight road fatalities per 100,000 people each year in Northern Ontario. Whereas in Southern Ontario, that number sits at 3.6. By introducing 2+1 roads, GEMS aims to reduce the number of road fatalities along Highway 11.

The Ontario government has taken note of GEMS advocacy.

“This first-of-its-kind highway pilot in North America will keep people and goods moving safely across Northern Ontario,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation, in a statement. “This is a key next step to get shovels in the ground on critical infrastructure projects that will support a strong transportation network.”

The government has selected two sections of Highway 11 to pilot the 2+1 design, both between North Bay and Temiskaming Shores. The first is a 14-kilometre stretch from Sand Dam Road to Ellesmere Road, and the second is 16 kilometres from Highway 64 to Jumping Caribou Lake Road.

Ministry of Transportation
Photo Courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation

“The highway model is used in other jurisdictions around the world and is more cost-efficient than twinning a highway,” the government said. According to GEMS, a 2+1 highway is approximately 70 to 75 per cent cheaper to build than a divided, four-lane highway.

North Bay Mayor Al McDonald voiced his support for the project, saying that the 2+1 design will make it safer for North Bay residents who drivein the winter.

The government’s call for proposals is open until December 2022. It will then announce the successful bidder in 2023. On the government’s bid submission site, the project completion date is set for May 16, 2025.