Editor:
It was a “dark and stormy night” when I recently had to go to the BC Ferries dock to pick up our son. I had to wait a few minutes to get of out the driveway onto the highway, in order to ensure I could avoid oncoming traffic from both directions.
I should add that my wife will only turn right on this roadway because she is so fearful of cars speeding down on her from both directions. She then goes a mile west to turn around at the golf course entrance to go to Gibsons.
So off I went on our narrow, curved, unlit highway to get my son. The glare from the oncoming traffic was unnerving, made all the more intimidating by the torrential rain that hampered my vision.
Having embarked on this route thousands of times before, I can handle some of the hazards that we continually face; I cannot imagine how intimidating this kind of experience is for the uninitiated or the elderly. As a seasoned driver, all I know is that this badly inadequate road spoiled what would otherwise have been a joyful event to welcome my son home.
We know well the inconvenience that our crowded highway causes scores of people each day, not to mention the blockages and delays that occur when power lines come down; however, what we feel needs to be underscored to politicians and bureaucrats is the raw fear that the badly outmoded Sunshine Coast Highway presents to many citizens who live here or travel here on the Coast. It is part of our existence both day and night and is not something we should have to live with, particularly when there are obvious answers and alternatives to this huge fear factor.
Please take this as our family’s sincere New Year’s wish to bring safe and convenient travel to our region. Life here will be much more enjoyable and secure for all if we work together to make this goal a reality in the days ahead.
G. Orbell, Roberts Creek
