Judge leading inquiry into Red Hill Valley Parkway friction mystery waiting for essential documents
A year after his appointment, the judge leading the Red Hill inquiry is still waiting for documents needed to investigate the slippery' parkway mystery.
City council voted in February 2019 to ask a Superior Court judge to investigate why a troubling friction study on the crash-prone parkway was inexplicably hidden for years. Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel was appointed in May of that year to head the city-funded inquiry, which has cost about $2 million so far.
Wilton-Siegel announced Monday the inquiry will hold a virtual public hearing July 7 to hear from participants about their efforts to comply with requests for documents. Members of the public can watch via livestream at rhvpi.ca.
An update posted on the inquiry website said the COVID-19 pandemic has understandably" resulted in some delays for participants asked to gather tens of thousands of documents related to the parkway and hidden friction study.
However, the Inquiry cannot proceed to the next stage of its work, interviewing persons of interest, until all documents have been received and reviewed," the update notes.
The inquiry was originally expected to hold public hearings and hear witness testimony this fall, but head inquiry lawyer Rob Centa said in April the judge and his team were still waiting on a significant number of documents" from the City of Hamilton and other participants.
As a result, a fall public hearing no longer seems feasible."
In April, the city's lawyer for the hearing, Eli Lederman, told councillors his team had reviewed more than three million documents and identified at least 30,000 that could be relevant to the investigation.
When asked Monday, Centa would not say which participants still owe the inquiry documents, but noted in a statement the inquiry would receive updates on all document production efforts" at the July 7 virtual hearing.
At a hearing held before the pandemic began, the inquiry granted formal participation rights to the city, province of Ontario, parkway builder Dufferin and project consultant Golder. The judge can also choose to request documents from other parties, using the courts if necessary.
Centa said in a statement the inquiry has not needed to use the courts to compel co-operation and does not anticipate that being necessary."
The city apologized to residents after it rediscovered 2013 Red Hill test results that showed the busy parkway was more slippery than expected - despite assuring the public for years that the asphalt friction was normal.
Last year, Hamilton lowered the parkway speed limit and repaved the roadway - after doing updated tests on the old asphalt in anticipation of the judicial inquiry.
Family members of Red Hill crash victims are attempting to pursue a separate $250-million class action lawsuit against the city.
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com