Media Release: Road safety blitzes continue in Lincoln to address safety, vehicle equipment and emissions

Lincoln, ON – (August 18, 2022) – The Town of Lincoln has collaborated once again with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Niagara Regional Police (NRP), Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) for the fourth road safety blitz in 2022, as part of its ongoing efforts to keep Lincoln roads safe. The recent safety blitz included Projects “Avoidance” and “Operation Nuts and Bolts” and was conducted on Lincoln roadways on August 16, 2022.

MTO, NRP, HRPS and OPP officers identified commercial motor vehicles that they believed were intentionally bypassing the Vineland Truck Inspection Station on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) between Vineland and Beamsville in Lincoln. These officers were strategically positioned across the community to intercept commercial motor vehicles believed to be intentionally by-passing the Truck Inspection Station, which were then stopped, inspected, and directed to the Vineland Truck Inspection Station for further and more in-depth mechanical review.

During this initiative, officers also focused on any type of vehicle being operated within the community with vehicle equipment defects or any other vehicle modification that may be deemed a safety concern.

Safety blitzes are being coordinated as a direct result of Council’s desire to redirect commercial vehicles away from Lincoln’s downtown cores and onto Regional and municipal roads that are ideal for larger trucks, while still ensuring goods movement to support our local businesses and overall economy. Safety blitzes aim to safeguard operation of these vehicles and are an ongoing commitment by the Town to ensure all roads in Lincoln are safe for residents and visitors alike.

The statistics from the recent initiative include:

200 passenger and commercial vehicles re-directed to Vineland Truck Inspection Station
40 vehicles were comprehensively inspected
26 vehicles removed from the highway after significant safety concerns identified
22 Provincial Offence Notices (tickets) issued
10 sets of licence plates seized
Two Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) conducted on drivers displaying signs of impairment

“This joint initiative between the Town of Lincoln, Niagara Police and the Ministry of Transportation to shines a light on the Town’s strong and continued partnership with these agencies in prioritizing traffic safety within our community,” said Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton. “We are now at four safety blitzes in 2022, which is further testament to our continued partnerships with these agencies. We are leading the way in Niagara as far as traffic and truck safety are concerned – which will benefit not only the Lincoln community but the broader Niagara region.”

“Our approach to truck safety in Lincoln is a balance of proactive measures such as these multi-agency safety blitzes and reactive approaches where we lean on our by-law enforcement team and enforcement from our partner agencies to address any infractions that may occur,” said the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Michael Kirkopoulos. “We are doing everything in our power to address the issue and will continue to work with other partners and levels of government. We have made significant progress and there is more work to be done.”

More information on truck safety in Lincoln and previous safety blitzes is available at our Speak Up Lincoln public engagement site, speakuplincoln.ca/truck-traffic.

The Town continues to implement traffic safety initiatives throughout the community, including Community Safety Zones, Pedestrian Crossovers, speedbumps and digital speed feedback signs. For more details or to ask the Town a question about traffic safety in Lincoln, please visit the Town’s public engagement site, Speak Up Lincoln, at speakuplincoln.ca/traffic-safety.

About Project Avoidance
Project Avoidance was developed in response to the Town of Lincoln’s request and through cooperation with the Niagara Regional Police (NRP), Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO), Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Halton Police Service and the Niagara Parks Police to conduct safety and compliance checks on commercial vehicles and trucks.

About Project Nuts and Bolts

The August 2022 safety blitz was referred to as “Operation Nuts and Bolts” and had two areas of focus:

Commercial vehicles bypassing the Vineland Inspection Station; and
Overall vehicle equipment, safety, and emissions enforcement.

History of Project Avoidance in Lincoln
In April 2019, Lincoln Council approved a resolution regarding truck safety in Lincoln, which addressed community concerns related to truck traffic and identified several action items to address the concerns. In the short term, the Beamsville Truck Bypass Route is planned to redirect truck traffic from the downtown area of Beamsville and along Bartlett Road and Durham Road.

In the longer term, the Niagara Escarpment Crossing Project will be a new north-south truck route on Park Road (Bartlett Avenue) in Grimsby. This route supports the need identified in the Niagara Region Transportation Master Plan for a new north-south escarpment crossing linking the QEW with Highway 20. It will offset the implications of high commercial vehicle traffic travelling through urban and residential areas within the west Niagara communities of Lincoln and Grimsby.

The Town’s Transportation Master Plan developed comprehensive strategies for the movement of goods which requires ongoing partnership with the Niagara Region and other key agencies such as the Minister of Transportation and Niagara Regional Police.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Liliana Busnello
Manager of Corporate Communications
Town of Lincoln
Direct: 905-563-2799 ext. 230
Tel: 905-563-8205