Citizens petitioning Ottawa to finish twinning Highway 1 in Yoho National Park

A crash near Field, B.C., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (Facebook/Imey Valeros)

A group of citizens is petitioning the federal government to finish twinning Highway 1 through Yoho National Park to improve safety.

The petition asks the government to provide funding to twin the highway through the national park, upgrading it from a two-lane highway to a four-lane highway, “in order to increase safety for the growing number of vehicles that use this highway for travel and commerce.”

It also asks the government to fund the creation of wildlife overpasses and underpasses, along with fencing when construction occurs, to help keep wildlife and people safe.

The petition was initiated by a resident of Field, B.C. It is open for signatures through Nov. 18.

The highway has been the site of multiple crashes over the summer.

Earlier this month, one person was killed and several others were injured in a crash at Emerald Lake Road and Highway 1. RCMP said it appeared a truck crossed the centre line hitting an oncoming minivan.

In July, multiple people were taken to hospital in a crash at the same intersection, when an SUV was rear-ended by a car as the driver was trying to turn left off the highway.

Average daily traffic volumes reach nearly 7,500 vehicles in Yoho National Park, according to Parks Canada.

The government has been gradually working to twin the highway since 1981, with work beginning in Banff and moving westward in phases.

The first section of highway twinning in Yoho National Park was completed in 2018.

Consultation on a plan to twin the remaining 40 kilometres of highway through Yoho is complete, but there are currently no funds for construction, according to Parks Canada.

A new four-lane stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway just opened up east of Golden B.C., and west of Yoho, after years of construction.