Injury collisions on the rise on south sections of Anthony Henday Drive

[00:00:01]When you enter on the Anthony Henday Drive, it's pretty apparent that it's busy. The free-flowing ring road picks up to a maximum speed of 100 km/h.

[00:00:10]The city says the south portion is emerging as one of the worst roads for injury collisions. It's created this high injury network map. The red line shows concentrations of those collisions almost continuously from the west near Cameron Heights all the way to the east to the Highway 14 exit. So, here's the city's stats from January of 2020 to the end of March of 2025. The southwest section has had the most collisions with a little over 1,000. Eight of them resulted in deaths or major injuries.

[00:00:40]Second most is the central portion with a little over 900 with seven major injuries or deaths. And the southeast portion is just over 400 with two major collisions. The results are surprising for some Henday drivers, but not for others.

[00:00:55]>> I've been here since 2017 in this area and I haven't seen much, so unless it's happening at late at night when we're not on the road, but I haven't for my daily commute I haven't seen it.

[00:01:08]>> The amount of traffic that comes through this little corridor here and only two ways in and out of Windermere, it's just creates backlog both ways, especially at uh at like the rush hour times.

[00:01:20]>> Councilor Mike Elliott is a former Edmonton police officer. He says the absence of photo radar and an increase in population in the areas around the south leg of the Henday are related to the increase in collisions.

[00:01:33]>> I also believe there's constraints uh on EPS uh because from my perspective it should be additional traffic enforcement and traffic safety. And uh that's something that I would be myself lobbying for um through city council and the police to try to increase the traffic safety measures that can be taken in our community.

[00:01:53]>> City councilors are discussing ways to prevent major collisions on all Edmonton roads. That would come with budgeting for it over the next four years. Travis McEwen, CBC News, Edmonton.