Falls council requests better lighting in Thorold Tunnel
Niagara Falls city council will send a resolution to St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. and Ministry of Transportation asking for better lighting in the centre of the Thorold Tunnel.
During Tuesday evening’s council meeting, Mayor Jim Diodati referenced a letter to the editor from St. Catharines resident June MacDonald that appeared in The Niagara Falls Review.
“I would like a reasonable explanation as to why the lighting almost disappears as you are about half way through the Thorold Tunnel,” wrote MacDonald.
“It is dangerously dark when you need the light the most. I am well-travelled and have never been in a civilized country anywhere in the world that has a tunnel as dark as our Thorold Tunnel.”
She wrote that some friends and acquaintances travel miles to avoid going through the tunnel for that reason.
“It is definitely a safety concern not only now while construction is going on but when it gets back to normal. I feel very strongly that something should be done about the lighting in (the) tunnel before a severe accident occurs.”
The structure under the Welland Canal is 840 metres in length and is on Highway 58 in Thorold, between Niagara Falls and St. Catharines.
Diodati said he has the same concerns as MacDonald.
“I wear prescription sunglasses and I always think when you get to the middle it’s so dark — you can’t take them off because then you can’t see, so you got to leave them on, and you hope your lights kick on,” he said.
“It is so dangerous. It’s an accident waiting to happen. I understand that you want it to be brighter as you get out to get you ready for the bright light, but you don’t make it darker as you get to the darkest part of the tunnel — it makes no sense at all.”
Reached for comment, a spokesman with the seaway corporation told The Review the Thorold Tunnel is a Ministry of Transportation asset.
Ministry spokesman Mark Patterson said road safety is the ministry’s “top priority” and because of a recent fire in the tunnel, some of the light bulbs were damaged, which have been replaced.
“The overall lighting levels have not changed in the tunnel, but the look of the new light bulbs versus the existing light bulbs gives the appearance of lower lighting levels,” he said.
“In conjunction with the council resolution, our maintenance staff are reviewing the lighting in the tunnel and after their review, if required, they will replace some of the older bulbs with newer ones.”