New speed restrictions have been installed on the Yellowhead Highway north of Kamloops in a bid to try to reduce the seemingly-persistent number of fatal crashes along Five-North.

The reduction of speeds down to 80-kilometers per hour in the Fish Trap Canyon area near McLure was a request that Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer lobbied the province for on a permanent basis.

While only in-effect this winter, Stamer says he suspects it could be the first step by the Ministry of Transportation and infrastructure to install dedicated variable speed corridors along the full-stretch of the Yellowhead.

“Fish Trap is probably going to have more of a positive look… maybe a variable speed corridor,” suggested Stamer.  “But that’s going to take a year or two before that’s going to happen.”

Highway 5 North has been the scene of numerous fatal accidents, many of them involving commercial vehicles.

Stamer says while he wants to see variable speed corridors created throughout the stretch of the Yellowhead Highway from Kamloops to Highway 16 created, he suggests this “first step” by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is welcome this winter.

“This is just a good compromise in my mind is to drop it down, just in that one choak-point, to 80 kilometers, and that way the trucks will have to slow down, because now they can enforce it. An 80 [kilometers per hour] yellow is not enforceable, an 80 black and white is.”

The reduced speed zone has already encountered issues, with one of the electronic speed reduction signs put out of commission earlier this week after apparently being clipped by a vehicle.