Consultant says it discussed 'buried' Red Hill report with city several times since 2014

The consultant involved withthe safety report at the centre of the Red Hill Valley Parkway Inquiry says it discussed the damning results with the city of Hamilton on several occasions since 2014.

Golder Associates says the report was brought up in meetings multiple times during the yearsbeforethe city said staff"became aware" of and found the report in a locked folder in 2018.Golder says it also presented the city with options for making the highway safer during those meetings.

The meetings are outlined in Golder'sapplication to be a participant in the RHVP Inquiry,which isinvestigating how a2013 TradewindScientific reportstayed buried.

Golder commissioned thesafety report, which showed that friction on sections of the RHVP was below acceptable UK standards, and insome cases, well below.There isn't astandard for friction levels in North America.

Golder is one of nine applicants to participate in the inquiry, which enters a public phase in early January. The commissioner, Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel has scheduled a public session to hearoral submissions from each of them to decide if they qualify to participate.

Among them are the city, province, a construction company, a group of 200 people involved in crashes, and a mother whose daughter died in a car crash.

In its application, Golder says it emailed the report'sresults, provided a hard copy, and discussed the findings and recommendations at a meeting with the city in February2014.

It alsosays itre-sent the report in 2015, discussed the results again in a meeting with the city in 2017, and talked about recommendations for the highway several times over the years.

City officials said the report stayed hidden in its locked folder for years until a new director found it in 2018.

When the public found out in February 2019,the city apologized, sayings its staff became of awareof the document in late 2018through an audit process. Thegeneral issues committee, it said, had received the information for the first time.

Golder, whichwas also responsible for quality assurance during the RHVP construction in 2007, does not specify exactly who itemailed or spoke to duringits contacts with the city.

But itsapplication claimsto have information where the report recommendations were discussed, even during 2018.

Applicants make their cases in the new year

Though the nine participants havesubmitted written applications, the commissionerhas decided he wantsto hear directly from everyone interested.All nine have been asked to present, regardless of whether they requested the chance to do so.

People willpresent their case on why they should be involved and to what extent on Friday, Jan. 10 in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 71 Main St. W. starting at 10 a.m. The meeting is public.

The Commissioner can grant applicants the right to participate in some or all parts of the inquiry.

The city will be the first to go, followed by the province and then Dufferin Construction Company, who built the RHVP from Mud Street interchange to QEW interchange.

Those who lost loved ones want representation

None of the applicants asked for their applications to be kept confidential, and eight of them are posted on the inquiry's website.One has been kept separate pending a fuller revision.

A group of six lawyersrepresentingaround 200 peopleinvolved in crashes onthe RHVP, including some who have lost loved ones, will also present.They expect to have information on around 250 - 300 crashes by the time the inquiry getsunderway.

Also presentingis Belinda Marazzato, whose daughterOlivia Smosarski andher friend, Jordyn Hastings, died in a crashon the parkway in 2015. She wants full participation for herself and her other children.

In her application,Marazzato says that the loss of her daughter has been devastating, and that by participating in the inquiry, she'll be able to better understand the factors that could have contributed to her daughter's death.

Most importantly, she says, her experience and her daughter's tragedy might help the inquiry make findings and recommendations to ensure future tragedies can be prevented so that "other families will not have to experience the unspeakable pain which [they] continue to endure."

A previous supervisor of accounting for the city andsomeone injured on the RHVP are also vying for participation.

A public meeting will also happen the day before these presentations on January 9, 2020 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in city hall'scouncil chamber to hear from Wilton-Siegeland for the public to ask questions about participating.

Both meetings will be broadcast andstreamedby Cable 14.

The cityhas reduced the speed limit of the roadway from90 km/h to 80 km/h,moved up its resurfacing work, andput millions in improvements into the RHVP since 2015.