Proponents behind a push to ban semi trucks on Highway 5A between Merritt and Kamloops have released a new transportation study – commissioned by the Stump Lake Ranch – to support their case.

According to the results of the study prepared by Seero Engineering Consulting, Highway 5A has a higher rate of collisions compared to Highway 5, the Coquihalla.

Report author Haytham Sadeq says that is based on the collision review of public ICBC collision data. He also noted that the report found that Highway 5A has very narrow shoulders for the level of truck traffic it sees at times.

“There were so many locations that do not have any clear zone that allows for a margin of error if any vehicle goes out because of the lakes that are around the highway,” Sadeq said. “So there weren’t really any concrete barriers. It does increase the consequences of collisions along the highway compared to a highway with concrete barriers.”

In a nearly hour-long press conference, Sadeq said they found about 2,000 vehicles use the highway every day.

“When we collected our own data we classified all vehicles based on the Ministry of Transportation classification,” he said. “The number of trucks along the route is ranging between 270 to an estimated 489 per day, which makes the percentage of trucks between 14 to 24 per cent.”

Sadeq added though his mandate was to only identify problems and not to evaluate the data. Those traffic volumes and issues, he noted, are expected to increase as traffic from both trucks and passenger vehicles is expected to grow annually by 1.3 to 1.7 per cent.

“This is a public highway. Usually public highways are available to all types of traffic but there are some signs in the manual that talk about no trucks or if this is a truck route and usually this only applies to when the highway geometric cannot accommodate the commercial traffic.”

Stump Lake Ranch spokesperson Bob Price says there is no valid reason for truckers to be using that highway, adding people and wildlife have paid the price over the years.

Speaking Thursday morning, Harvey McLeod, the Chief of the Upper Nicola Indian Band said he is concerned about the safety of residents given the amount of truck traffic on Highway 5A. He said he worries that if the current situation continues, someone will get seriously hurt or lose their life.

“The concerns that are brought up in the report and by other citizens that live along Highway 5A are not news to us,” he said. “We’ve been having discussions with various ministers over the last two decades and its not getting more prevalent and more of an urgency.”

“We’re asking for us to stand still and have a look at the urgency of the findings in this report. I am so afraid that we will not listen until one of us have paid the price, the ultimate price, of living along that highway.”

McLeod along with representatives of the Stump Lake Ranch say they will be meeting with B.C.’s Transportation Minister, Rob Fleming, on Tuesday to discuss the report.

Data put forward in a presentation to the TNRD last December argued that truck-related crashes on Highway 5A have been increase. In 2018, 26 per cent crashes on Highway 5A north of Merritt involved semi-trucks, compared to 18 per cent in 2013.

The TNRD board subsequently voted 21-5 in favour of writing a letter of support to Stump Lake Ranch as it tries lobby for a ban on trucks.

“I can see the highway from my living room windows. It’s part of my entertainment some days,” Nicola Valley North director, David Laird, said in April.

“The other night, there was one truck passing another truck in the 70-kilometre-an-hour speed zone. It’s a very short distance. To me that’s totally irresponsible. It doesn’t matter what kind of training you have if you don’t respect the speed limit you’re driving down the highway at.”

In March, the Ministry of Transportation told the TNRD that banning commercial trucks on Highway 5A would not make the route any safer. The BC Trucking Association is also “unequivocally” against such a ban.

BCTA President Dave Earle told NL News it’s not clear why some truckers use Highway 5A instead of the Coquihalla, noting the goal is to make sure that resident’s concerns can be addressed without limiting options to truckers.

“These are the concerns, these are the issues, these are the results to the concerns that we have,” McLeod added. “Let’s stop and have a look at it, let’s listen to us because we will pay the price.”