Monday, April 30, 2012

Highway 63 and insanity

If you are horrified like me at the recent tragic deaths that occurred on Highway 63 and wish it was twinned, but you voted for the PCs a week ago, you know that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over but expecting a different result, right?

Redford wants 140 new clinics in the province.  Until it's twinned, I suggest she place all of them along this highway of death.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

have listened for 30 years of the provincial government's hapless comments, and promises to twin said highway, from whence they derive such massive tax dollars - latest gov't spokesperson saying "the public does not see what we have been doing" crap - I suggest they turn it over to the oil companies to achieve same - useless liers - no wonder Wildrose got 35% of the provincial vote - the blood of every new death is on their hands

Anonymous said...

May I suggest that Woodland caribou and muskeg are not the delay in twinning Highway 63. Ask the farmers who are being expropriated if they are being treated fairly for their homesteads. In many cases, the Province sent out a non-accredited appraiser who valued the property at 1/3 of what the farm is actually worth and we, the farmers, are required to "prove", with actual figures and quotes, that their appraisal is far below the cost of replacing farm for farm. The property was never for sale and yet the Government expects us to move and accept whatever is offered to us. If we don't like it, then we must duke it out with the Land Compensation Board perhaps for years to follow.

Anonymous said...

Do a search on google about "twinning highway 63 alberta" and you see tons of studies on impact on inland fish habitat.

Also saw another announcement that shuts down construction during prime construction season because of potential impact on caribou calves.

I suspect these are some of the sources that has slowed things down. Supposedly the highway up to house river was supposed to be completed by 2012 according to the initial announcements.

Gerry

Anonymous said...

Thank God the PCs were reelected. Wild rise would never build a road.

Mike B. said...

"Thank God the PCs were reelected. Wild rise would never build a road."

Uh, but the PCs haven't. And people are dying as a result of inaction and red tape. Typical of this crappy gov't.

harebell said...

hatrock
People are dieing because motorists aren't driving carefully enough. The road causes no collisions only motorists can do that.
If people were drivers instead of motorists the majority of these accidents would not have happened.
Personal responsibility should be emphasised here, it's not as though people don't know about the deaths that have occurred along this stretch of road.

Mike B. said...

harebell, you are correct, but keep in mind that you can't fix stupid. You can only make it less likely they'll do stupid things like pass a string of semis on a two lane highway. This highway is a MAJOR commercial transportation corridor for our economy and it should have been twinned as a toll road decades ago.

Joe said...

I drive that highway on a fairly regular basis. I have never had an accident or a near accident on that road. However the traffic volume there is more than sufficient to justify 4 lanes. The traffic mix, cars, trucks, semis and the big mods combine to demand that the highway be expanded. Unlike the old Socreds the PCs do not believe in building or maintaining highways except as political favours for their political favourites. I know that King Ralf started the ball rolling on the twinning but curiously the twinning seemed to stop about the time Guy Boutilier called Special Ed and idiot for costing thousands of Albertans their jobs when Special Ed rejigged the royalty rates.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Joe -- the road more than justifies an expansion considering the commuter traffic (depending on the shifts whether 2 week or larger shifts) and delivery of very large equipment it definitely justifies a four lane highway.

Gerry

Anonymous said...

I lived along the mid way point of Hwy 63 for 3 of the last 4 oil booms we've enjoyed and subsequently pissed away. For each and every boom a 4 lane highway was promissed, only for the government of the day to almost breath a sigh of relief when each boom morphed into a bust and they didn't actually have to build the new road.

The muskeg that spans a great portion of this route is hardly a sensitive area and for Redford's government to claim it is some sort of UNESCO site is assinine. Another delay tactic to not get the road built....AGAIN.

Every time Redford opens her mouth another billion dollars falls out. Maybe if the teachers' union owned paving equipment she'd be interested in funding it!

BTW, for the time I lived in that area (childhood to adulthood) I never came across even one of these mythical "Woodland caribou". Lots of moose and deer, but "Woodland caribou" conjurs up images akin to cuddly polar bears and baby seals, a poster critter, if you will.

Build the bloody road already.