st. john's

Narrowed roadway causes downtown traffic jam

A recent snowstorm may have ended on Wednesday evening, however forty-eight hours later its remnants caused a traffic headache on one of downtown’s busiest roads.

Reports of the traffic nightmare started appearing on social media early Friday evening, as downtown businesses filled with patrons. Snowbanks encroached on many parking spaces along the west end of Duckworth Street, and parked vehicles lined both sides of the street. The result was a single lane of road on which traffic could flow.

At times traffic was backed-up from McBride’s Hill to New Gower Street, with neither direction able to gain any ground. On at least one occasion passengers of several vehicles could be seen walking down the line of cars to explain to other drivers what was happening. Some drivers were forced to reverse their vehicles a significant distance to free the traffic jam. Other drivers tried using their horn to free up space.

Many pedestrians, who were able to walk freely along both sidewalks, stopped to marvel at the inconvenience and offer commentary on its cause. The City of St. John’s had removed snow from a length of Duckworth Street, east of Prescott Street, the previous night. No snow removal operations were scheduled for Friday night.

Firefighters save recreational building from significant damage

A quick response from St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) Saturday evening saved a recreational building from significant fire damage.

Multiple 911 calls were received shortly after 5:00 p.m. Saturday evening alerting firefighters to a fire at King George V soccer complex, near Quidi Vidi Lake. When crews arrived a few minutes later they found a small storage shed fully involved with fire.

While it only took a few minutes to knock down the flames, there was concern about extension into a building that houses washroom facilities, locker rooms, storage, and a canteen. SJRFD Platoon Chief Dean Foley said while the building did sustain some fire damage to the outside wall and eave, there was no fire damage to the interior. The building’s attic space did fill with smoke, however firefighters removed a vent to allow the smoke to escape.

Crews were on scene for roughly an hour, at times using a thermal imaging camera to ensure no hot spots remained. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

A storage shed at King George V soccer complex was destroyed by fire, causing damage to the outside of a recreational building.
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