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Café, residents come to aid of motorists stranded on Hwy. 26

There weren’t just people in our parking lot. There were also people stuck on the road with their kids overnight,' says café owner
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It turns out, you can sometimes rely on the kindness of strangers.

Stranded motorists along Highway 26 sought refuge at the Four Cedars Café and Convenience, located at Highway 26 and George Johnston Road in Minesing last night and today when deteriorating conditions of Highway 26 pushed them off the busy highway.

Ontario Provincial Police closed parts of the road on Thursday due to blizzard-like conditions, but some drivers found out too late.

“All these people who were coming up, more than half of them had no idea the road was closed,” said Noura Seif, manager of Four Cedars. “People were coming in all day asking if there were other routes to get to Collingwood and Stayner. We advised them not to go through, because once (OPP) close the roads, you’re taking a chance.”

Seif said about five to 10 people spent the entire night in their cars in the café’s parking lot.

“I even called to ask if we should stay open later to see if we could have people hunker down. We don’t really have beds or anything but we have tables and chairs,” she said with a laugh. “It seemed people preferred their cars.”

Close to closing, Seif said she spoke with OPP to see if the roads were opening, and says she was told by an officer they were planning to open shortly.

“So we closed the café,” she said. “When I came in this morning, some of the people who had been here last night were still here,” said Seif.

Seif said there were between 20 and 30 cars in their lot when she opened at 7 a.m., as some had come in the night in between closing and opening.

“We let them in, gave them coffee and asked them if they needed anything,” she said.

As of 2 p.m., Seif said her stretch of Highway 26 was open again.

“I think it was worse because it landed on a Thursday. People were trying to get to Collingwood for a long weekend. Thursday nights are busy for us,” she said.

While Seif said Highway 26 did close at one point last winter due to inclement weather, it wasn’t nearly for as long as this time. To prevent these types of issues from occurring going forward, Seif said she thinks emergency alerts should be extended to weather events, and communication could be improved.

“I think this is just part of living up north. There are just some days where you don’t leave your house. Most of the people who were stranded didn’t live up here. I think it comes down to communication,” she said.

“There weren’t just people in our parking lot. There were also people stuck on the road with their kids overnight,” she added.

OPP media officer Gosia Puzio confirmed Friday that some motorists had spent the night in the cafe’s parking lot, and some on the roadway.

“We have heard some stories that a local resident took a couple of motorists in,” said Puzio.

Puzio confirmed that as of 4 p.m., Highway 26 was open again for drivers, but urged caution on the roadways as there still are some road closures throughout Simcoe County and more inclement weather expected into Saturday.

“People should still be cautious and not travel if they don’t need to,” said Puzio.

To keep up-to-date on road closures and conditions in Simcoe County, Puzio said to follow the Central Region OPP on Twitter at @OPP_COMM_CR.


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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