The unit commander for Cochrane Integrated Traffic says he's never seen such heavy volumes of traffic heading towards the mountain parks in the 12 years he's been stationed in Cochrane.

Over the August Long Weekend, Sgt. Dave Hardy says an enhanced team of Alberta Sheriffs and RCMP charged six people with impaired driving, issued four violations of provincial legislation for consumption of alcohol over 50 mg, four cannabis/alcohol-related tickets, and 375 provincial traffic tickets.

He says there wasn't much outside of what you'd normally expect on a Long Weekend, other than an enormous amount of traffic of people heading out for both the weekend or beginning holiday travel.

"The traffic going out in the morning west was unbelievable.," says Sgt. Hardy. "The people that were in the park was unbelievable. I've never seen it so busy in the 12 years that I've been here.

He believes the number of tickets and charges issued reflect this volume.

"I think it was a combination of the traffic volume and the fact that we had a fair number of officers on the road conducting enforcement through this weekend."

There was one ATV collision reported in the Bragg Creek area as well as the Aug. 1 incident of a motorist who drove into traffic on Hwy. 22, side-swiped a semi, then rolled into he ditch and caught on fire.

Between July 31 and Aug. 3, the RCMP issued a total of 2,559 traffic tickets, and 420 warnings across the province.

Overall, 1,972 individuals were ticketed for speeding, 34 individuals were charged with impaired driving, and six motorists received roadside suspensions

The RCMP recorded 26 per cent more roadway offences compared to the Heritage Day long weekend in 2019.