Details lacking in region's list of Lakeshore Road collisions

Since the mature maple tree on Lakeshore Road isn’t scheduled to be removed until next week, regional staff have replaced the memorials they took down earlier this week.

They mark the site of two fatalities that occurred about a year apart, both as a result of drivers hitting the same tree.

The most recent fatality was June 5. The name of the man who died has not been released, and Niagara Regional Police haven't issued updates on the investigation into what caused his vehicle to leave the road on a steep curve and hit the tree.

The collision a year ago ending a life described on one note on the tree as a “sweet, beautiful” woman, and asking her to “please rest easy.” There was no cause of that collision released to the public either.

Region staff have reviewed several factors, including the geometry of the curve, and earlier this week was no further ahead on answering the question of cause — they were waiting for information from the police. They have the problem isn't with the curve, and are

While regional transportation department staff have decided the tree will come down, guardrails are still being considered.

“After review, the region determined this maple tree should be removed. We are still considering the addition of guiderails and learned that we’d also need to remove the tree should we decide to go ahead with that option,” regional spokesperson Janet Rose told The Local Thursday.

Asked for the region’s collision history for Lakeshore Road from Four Mile Creek to Niven Road, the response that was provided covers January 1, 2003 up to December 31, 2023, but with few details.

There have been a total of 38 collisions during this 21-year time period, Rose said.

“This historic rate of total collisions is comparable to other areas of the regional road network for a two-lane rural road. The two recent fatal accidents have raised the importance of implementing road safety improvements for this area.”

Of those 38 collisions:

• 10 collisions resulted in injuries of all severities. Based on the information received from the Ministry of Transportation, the region is not able to differentiate between minor or more severe injury collisions.

• Two collisions resulted in a total of three fatalities during the period that ended in 2023. The most recent incident is not included in this total as it is not yet part of the region’s collision database. Incorporating the most recent collision, the dates of these incidents are:

◦ 2008/02/20 – collision resulting in two fatalities

◦ 2023/06/10 – collision resulting in one fatality

◦ 2024/06/05 – collision resulting in one fatality

Shirley Madsen, who moved to a house beside the cemetery on Lakeshore Road with her husband Finn in 2003, has her own list.

Many locals will remember the tragedy in 2008 when two families lost their teenage daughters, one from NOTL and her friend from St. Catharines. They were travelling westbound on Lakeshore Road, lost control, and hit a large tree on the south side, at the entrance to the Lakeshore Cemetery.

Also on Madsen’s list is one she says was never reported publicly — it happened in 2023, just a few weeks before the June 2023 collision. A man had hit the same tree, she recalls, and she assumes, since there was no mention of it in the news, that he was not seriously injured.

In July, 2023, a drunk driver lost control, became airborne, and landed on their front lawn beside their home — no tree involved — causing extensive damage along the way, including to the Madsen’s garden, fence and gate. He was not injured.

She also was told about a man being pulled out from a burning car on Lakeshore Road near Niven Road a few years ago, but has no further details —  again, nothing was mentioned in the news that she could find.

March 14, 2023 at about 8 a.m. a woman hit a telephone pole on Lakeshore Road near Four Mile Creek, Road and was injured, Madsen said. The road was closed and hydro was off for several hours

 In 2009 or 2010 a woman pulled out of the Lakeshore Cemetery, turning right on Lakeshore Road and was hit head-on by a car travelling west, Madsen recalls. She recalls the woman died, but she doesn’t know what happened to the two men in the west-bound car.

These tragedies, said Madsen, do not include any cycling accidents or other collisions on other sections of Lakeshore Road.

Asked to provide historic details of collisions in that area, olice spokesperson Stephanie Sabourin told The Local a request must be made under the Freedom of Information Act, which can take some time.

Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa and Regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser both expressed confidence in the region’s decision about the best option or options to implement as safety measures.

Kaiser told The Local earlier this week that she and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa are in agreement about the Lakeshore Road situation. "At the end of the day, we expect the conversation to be comprehensive and in sinc with the municipality," she said. "We have a good relationship with the region, and Frank Tassone is very skilled. He has been exceptional in terms of respecting the concerns of the municipality.”

Zalepa also told The Local the town and region are “on the same page” about their desire to make that curve safer, and that he is confident “the region would make their assessment based on the best information they have.”

"At the end of the day," he said, "we want to make sure all the right things are done for the right reasons. Safety is important — we all feel that, and I think this process has done that.”

Professional road department staff both from the region and the town have looked at the situation and are making their recommendations, he said. "I am satisfied that the correct safety decisions are being made by the correct groups."