Highway twinning raises concerns
Dear Editor,
What I retain from the information session held on May 30 in Hinton is that, as reported in local media, twinning Highway 16 between Hinton and Jasper National Park is not warranted before traffic volume reaches 10,000 vehicles a day. However, some of the arguments put forward to justify the twinning are of concern:
A few curves, among other things, are substandard. But does this justify the high cost of twinning Highway 16 all the way to Jasper National Park gates?
Safety was also mentioned, but the session organizers could not tell me if traffic accident data show a higher incidence of accidents on that stretch.
Although that stretch of Highway 16 currently handles 4,000-5,000 vehicles daily, proponents of the twinning make much of the fact that traffic can go over 7,000. But this volume is reached only at the junction with Highway 40, where Highway 16 already has four lanes.
At 110 km/h, twinning Highway 16 would allow one to save about 1.5 minutes. Is this worth dozens of millions of our tax dollars (not counting the cost of interchanges and new service roads)? In addition, this gain could be more than offset by increased delays at the park gates and in the park itself once traffic reaches the required volume of 10,000 vehicles a day.
So, what really seems to be at stake here is the twinning of Highway 16 in the park. A session organizer candidly admitted that twinning Highway 16 up to the gates would put pressure on park authorities to extend the four-lane design into the park, which obviously raises a host of other issues. If this is the real plan, we should be told so.
Gilles Gamas
Hinton, Alta.
Age is just a number
Dear Editor,
I work at a place where I work with people younger than me by about 12 years. Twice now I’ve been referred to as old. I’m not old. I’m 35 and feeling fine. No one is old. I went to my friend Gertie Kofin’s funeral today. She was 91, and she wasn’t old either.
If people limit their circle to people their own age, they are limiting themselves. You learn from people of all ages, younger and older than yourself.
One of my best friends was 91 when he passed and I knew him for four years. It was four years that I cherish everyday. He grew up in Jasper in the rough days before all the paved roads and tourism. He got me to see Jasper in a different way, his way. And Jasper in my eyes is so much better for it. My friend Bill passed away last May and I think about him all the time when I’m out camping or having a rum and Coke. I am forever grateful for his friendship. He was never that old man to me. He was competition for my fiance. People are people. It doesn’t matter what age they are, if you feel a connection with them, embrace it, don’t be an ageist. “Older people” make the best friends. Don’t write us off!
Bill Brady, you are not forgotten.
Kari Janzen
Jasper, Alta.
Thoughts on Environment Week
Dear Editor,
Though I don’t need a special reason to celebrate the Earth that sustains us, I did partake in several Environment Week events last week, including an excellent Community Conversation about power in Jasper, organized by the library; the e-waste drop-off, organized by the municipality; and, a screening of the award-winning documentary, Trashed.
While highlighting various human attempts to deal with the waste created by our consumer-driven cultures, Trashed struck me for its poignant, albeit disturbing, message. Despite our cultural habituation to having our waste dealt with out of sight, the waste is not out of mind. Literally. Trashed empirically demonstrates how the toxins produced by our unsustainable human practices pollute not just our air, water and soil, but are inevitably showing up in our bodies, as well as in those of other species. Our addiction to plastic is a major culprit.
On a positive note, I recently read an article in the Canadian published Alternatives Journal about an initiative in Whitehorse, Yukon. Utilizing a $200,000 bit of technology, a recycling business that serves Whitehorse has saved almost $20,000 in heating and labour costs after just one year, while turning plastic back into oil:. alternativesjournal.ca/science-and-solutions/plastic-oil. While it’s not a panacea, and we would clearly benefit from a cultural shift toward biomimetic product design, certainly a similar initiative could be achieved in our region.
The film’s occurrence also struck me for the community collaboration I witnessed in its organization. I’d like to thank Vanessa Martin for her initiative, Ursula Winkler for her never-ending commitment to the land, École Desrochers, the Municipality of Jasper, and the Chaba Theatre for their collaborative partnership toward the health and well-being of our community.
