Now if we can just get Highway 542 paved on its entire length
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an open letter to the Honourable Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, Ontario Minister of Transportation, and has been reprinted here at the author’s request.
Re: Highway 542, Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates (MICA) would like to take this opportunity to thank MTO for granting Manitoulin Island road safety infrastructure in the form of paved shoulders on three of four provincial highways.
These paved shoulders receive praise from OPP, EMS, fire chiefs and school bus drivers, as they allow drivers to pull over safely for them. They help to keep our Amish population much safer and have helped MICA’s work since 2010. Manitoulin Island is now known as one of Ontario’s and Canada’s best cycle destinations. Many of Manitoulin’s accommodation providers report more than 20 percent of their annual income is due to cycle tourism.
We applaud your goal of getting people moving and connecting communities efficiently and safely for all modes of transportation.
The province-wide cycling network plan shows Hwy 542 for most of its length as the planned cycle route.
Highway 542 has received work in 2023, and we believe is still under warranty. To everyone’s consternation it was done in such a subpar standard, that in spring of 2024 we experience this road worse than it was before the work in 2023.
Lanark County studies have clearly shown that paved shoulders are cheaper when the cost is calculated over five years. Australian studies showed, that roads with paved shoulders are safer for all road users (41 percent less car accidents).
We are advocating for adding paved shoulders for the safety of all road users in Northern Ontario, where winters are harsh, and in spring the dirt shoulders become very soft and dangerous to pull over.
We are happy to see cross ministerial input sought in your committees. Moving people is so very much interrelated with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education.
MICA advocates for resurfacing Hwy 542 for its entire length with paved shoulders. Hwy 542 is heavily used by ferry departure anxiety driven traffic, by low speed farm traffic, by the Amish families travelling by horse and buggy. Hwy 542 is, in many portions, part of the 850km suggested cycle routes found on Manitoulin used by thousands of cyclists every year for three of the four seasons. Hwy 542 travels through 3 municipalities, it is in very rough condition, and very narrow for the safety of all vehicular traffic
Sincerely grateful for your work and insight.
Looking forward to your response,
Maja Mielonen
Manitoulin Island Cycling Advocates
Mindemoya
