Calls grow for independent probe into hiding of Red Hill report
A 2013 study of slippery patches on the parkway wound up getting buried for years. There have been more than 200 crashes with injuries, four with deaths, since then.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger says he would give “full support” to an external investigation into what happened with the friction test.
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GROWING NUMBER of Hamilton politicians are backing a call for an independent investigation into how a troubling Red Hill Valley Parkway safety report was hidden for years.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger announced Friday he will give “full support to conducting an independent external investigation” into the circumstances behind the burying of a 2013 friction test that suggested parts of the collision-prone parkway were slippery.
There have been more than 200 collisions with injuries on the Red Hill — and four crashes that resulted in deaths — since that report was completed and then mysteriously lost.
The report was apparently rediscovered last fall by a new manager but only made public — along with an unprecedented apology to the public — earlier this week.
The revelation spurred an immediate speed limit reduction on the parkway and kick-started an internal audit. The news also prompted families of Red Hill crash victims to mull a class-action lawsuit.
Eisenberger said in an interview Friday he has faith in the city’s own top auditor, but added he doesn’t want the results of any probe to be “tainted” by the “optics” of a city-led investigation.
Tory MPP Donna Skelly, who previously served as a Ward 7 city councillor, echoed the call for a public
At a December 2015 public works meeting, then-engineering director Gary Moore was asked directly by councillors about anecdotal driver concerns that the Red Hill was slippery or built with inferior asphalt.
inquiry in an announcement late Friday.
Eisenberger said Friday he wasn’t sure what type of external probe will be requested, adding he will ask the city’s legal team to provide options. A motion is expected at Wednesday’s council meeting.
But Coun. Brad Clark said Friday that “given the overwhelming public response” to the friction fiasco, he will push to request a judicial investigation by a Superior Court judge, an option available under the Municipal Act.
The Ward 9 councillor argued a judicial probe would be empowered to subpoena information outside of city records, if necessary. Coun. Sam Merulla had also mused about the prospects for a public inquiry.
The mayor’s announcement came as video circulated online of the city’s former top engineer publicly claiming 2013 tests showed “no concerns” with the asphalt.
That statement, made at a 2015 public works meeting, appears to contradict the newly revealed results of the “lost” 2013 parkway friction test completed by Tradewind Scientific.
That report found the Red Hill friction levels were generally lower than on the Lincoln Alexander Parkway and mostly below a “skidding resistance” standard used in the United Kingdom. The results prompted the consultant to recommend more investigation and “remedial work.”
The report author, Tradewind president Leonard Taylor, told The Spectator he would have expected the recommendation to prompt a closer look at the makeup of the asphalt — which to date, has not happened.
At a December 2015 public works meeting, then-engineering director Gary Moore was asked directly by councillors about anecdotal driver concerns that the Red Hill was slippery or built with inferior asphalt.
The questions came about seven months after Olivia Smosarski and Jordyn Hastings, both 19, were killed late at night in a crossover crash on the parkway.
Coun. Sam Merulla asked if there was any truth to the rumour “lowgrade” materials were used in the construction of the parkway, which opened in late 2007.
Moore replied the city used a “premium asphalt mix” that was found to be “holding up exceptionally well” based on testing he said occurred in 2012 or 2013.
Moore has not responded to requests for comment this week. He retired from the top engineer position last year but is on contract with the city’s light rail transit project team.
A 2017 award-winning Spectator investigation quoted Moore as saying the only friction test conducted by the city on the Red Hill was “inconclusive” and consisted of an informal chart in an email. He did not mention the existence of the 2013 Tradewind report.
It remains unclear why the report remained buried for so long, or why current city staff say they were unaware of its existence.
At the 2015 public works meeting, Moore also referenced earlier friction tests conducted by the provincial Ministry of Transportation shortly after the seven-kilometre parkway was completed.
The Spectator asked the MTO in 2016 for the results of those friction tests, but was told the study was a commercial confidential document.