Police prepare for truck convoy stop in Kingston – Kingston | The Canadian News

As several transport truck convoys from southwestern Ontario drive their way east to Ottawa for a weekend rally on Parliament Hill, many of them will stop in Kingston on Thursday.

Kingston police say they will close an area of ​​Gardiners Road and Main Road 38, where there are a number of truck stops and hotels, to allow the large number of transport trucks to enter the area.

“Up to possibly four convoys are expected to spend the night in Kingston to eat fuel, sleep and then go to Ottawa tomorrow morning, Friday,” Kingston police sergeant said. Steve Koopman said. “We must therefore make that accommodation as good as possible, and rather than let chaos reign, we decided to close the Gardners Road-Highway 38 type of highway.”

Koopman says police expect convoys to come from Windsor, Sarnia, Niagara and Toronto and that most are only loosely organized with the original, moving through northern Ontario to the country’s capital.

The convoys are on their way to Parliament Hill to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandate, especially one aimed at truck drivers. The policy, which went into effect on January 15, makes it mandatory for Canadian truck drivers crossing the U.S. border to be vaccinated to avoid a 14-day quarantine.

According to Koopman, police presence will not be so necessary on Friday morning, as the transport will only have to make a right turn to drive back to the 401 ramp.

“We hope to keep the left lane open for regular traffic and then we will have to continue north to the 401 freeway ramp to go east to Ottawa,” Koopman said.

Police are also hopeful that the convoy will distribute its meeting points to municipalities other than Kingston. Koopman says there is a possibility that trucks could stop for the night in communities like Belleville, Napanee and Brockville.

“If anything can be accommodated that we can reduce the numbers just coming to Kingston, it will be a great relief to us,” Koopman said. “And then we could see if these numbers coming off Highway 38 and road were manageable.”

Koopman says Kingston police are working with the OPP regarding the convoy, including receiving updates of its progress throughout the day.