Editor:
You may recall my letter about the road conditions during the recent snowstorm (“Pender response abysmal,” Jan. 24). I sent the letter to the premier, transportation minister, MLA Nicholas Simons, Capilano Highways and the SCRD. I also sent it to three newspapers. One publication got back to me to explain why they wouldn’t publish it. The only one that got back to me with questions was Coast Reporter. None of the government departments or the highway company responded. I gather that means they’ll just ignore the problem and hope it will be forgotten till next time. That’s what happened in 2009 after a previous Reporter article (“Winter road woes a call for change”).
So, it’s been 11 years and nothing has changed.
There are 28 highway contracts in the province. The value of these 28 highway maintenance agreements totals approximately $400 million annually.
Together, these maintenance contractors:
• Maintain more than 47,500 km of highway and 2,800 structures.
• Provide maintenance services 24/7.
• Provide a broad range of services including winter maintenance, surface maintenance, drainage maintenance, roadside maintenance, traffic maintenance, bridge maintenance and highway patrol.
• Are responsible for identifying, planning and prioritizing these services.
• Must provide these services in accordance with the specifications set out in the highway maintenance agreements.
It is interesting to note that B.C. spent an estimated $830 million in subsidies for fossil fuels in the 2017-18 fiscal year, most of which went to the industry. Plus, they have untold accumulated credits. We do this under the guise of job creation. But guess what? We don’t own any of these companies and have sold off all the rights to the resources they use. We do own the roads. They are part of our infrastructure. Surely, we can fund something we own so that maintenance lives up to our, the owners’, standards and safety; and we can justify this under the guise of job creation.
Don’t give me this “just stay home” response. Some people can’t afford a day without pay, let alone four days. It’s time to stop with the excuses and put the monies and maintenance requirements in place to deal with the problem the next time we have a winter storm.
Ted Taylor, Madeira Park
