Dear editor:

Highway safety engineers typically avoid dangerous curves and intersections, wherever possible, to mitigate serious or fatal traffic accidents. Not so in NOTL, where we have created an accident waiting to happen at the gateway project.

The bump out intended to direct traffic toward the QEW from Queen Street, and away from the Chautauqua community, is a trainwreck and by design merges oncoming traffic into a potential head-on collision.

My golf partners from St. Catharines witnessed a near-miss when a high-speed sports car travelling from Chautauqua slammed on the brakes at just this location. In this case it was to avoid T-boning a car entering from Mississagua Street. Blaring of horns has become commonplace as three cars attempt to negotiate this now freakish intersection.

Considering the inevitable, a serious injury or fatal accident, the personal injury lawyers will have a field day.

In addition to the drivers, should the town, the Chautauqua residents who wanted traffic rerouted and Gerry Kowalchuk, who is ponying up $250,000 to fund the gateway project, be concerned about a possible big bucks lawsuit if something terrible happens?

Have they considered this eventuality and reviewed their insurance policy exposures?

Samuel Young

NOTL