21 February 2007
Signal Malfunction Sparks Traffic Chaos
Cambridge Ontario - A malfunction at a rail crossing on
one of Cambridge's busiest streets caused traffic to pile up for almost 90 minutes yesterday evening.
The railway gates at Hespeler Road, Franklin Boulevard, and other crossings were stuck down, blocking the road, after a piece of
equipment broke, police said.
Katherine Ford, a cashier at a nearby Esso station on Hespeler Road, called police because she feared angry drivers would hurt others
as they tried to avoid the traffic snare.
"Fist fights were going to break out," she said. "People were going insane. I had to shut my gas pumps off. There were
cars pulling U-turns all through the parking lot. It was chaos."
Ford said hundreds of vehicles, including packed city buses, were backed up for at least two kilometres on the north side of Hespeler
Road.
A Canadian Pacific Railway crew was delayed in making repairs because heavy traffic made it difficult to reach the site, the railway
said.
"It's similar to regular traffic lights on a street," said spokesperson Breanne Feigle. "Sometimes, there are
malfunctions."
Feigle said the breakdown was caused by weather but she couldn't elaborate.
Police Insp. Bryan Larkin said the blocked crossings were cleared without incident.
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