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Driving in winter is dangerous enough in Orillia, but the thing that I am concerned about is (what I call the death trap) the southbound Highway 11 on-ramp from Highway 12/Old Barrie Road.
Something needs to be done about this on-ramp due to having very little room to safety merge with the southbound Highway 11 traffic. This seemed to be the starting point of the major crash on Highway 11. Anyone who uses this on-ramp knows what I'm talking about.
Outside of major reconstruction of the on-ramp I would suggest the following;
- Force all large trucks (18 wheelers) to use the passing lane approximately 500 metres from the on-ramp until they pass the on ramp;
- Reduce the speed limit on the inside (right) lane of Highway 11 to 70 km/h, approximately 500 metres from the on-ramp until they pass the on-ramp; and
- Inform drivers on inside (right) lane on Highway 11 that they must allow all cars to safely merge (approximately 500 metres from the on-ramp).
All three items mentioned above can be done using overhead signs and/or painting these items on the road.
I can't believe that this has not been addressed already.
Hopefully someone in the power of authority will finally act on this matter.
Joe da Silva
Orillia
