Highway 19 Enough of the Political Lies and Engineering incompetence!

There is a plan for highway 19 alright!  It is not to be worked on until 2 other highways are fully  completed one being highway 53 into Fort McMurray which will take at least 10 years and cost twice as many lives in traffic on highway 19.  There is no budget for highway 19 in the Governments figures, that’s how far away things are.   All communities involved are aware of this. Between them they keep the ball in the air.

But, rather than mitigate some of the traffic disasters they chooses to turn a blind eye.  Considering these disasters were caused by stop lights that were slammed into place for a visual political plus and no thought put into how they were going to operate.  They have never been synchronized.

George Rogers the one time MLA for Devon did absolutely nothing for this town in regards to that highway when the opportunity was there.  I'm sure he's still treading water he is very low on the Conservative totem! 

The big screw up is the lights at the intersection of Airport Road, the 711 store and West jet parking.   2 sets of lights not synchronized at all. No thought given to traffic only thought being having a visual traffic post show they did something.

The results are horrendous if you have to drive it. 

The West Light starts red with a sold line of traffic waiting to go through it.

This string of traffic reaches back to the East set of lights.

At the East set of Lights there are people coming from Leduc, Nisku and Highway number two trying to get into a precious slot of any kind!  They have pulled across the oncoming traffic lane solidly blocking it waiting for a light change where, just maybe traffic that comes in on the light change will allow them to finish making the turn.  Traffic shut down 3 ways for hours at times.

If the vehicle happens to be a large truck it will take 5 changes of lights before it gets lined up behind a light to go straight ahead.   Traffic both ways are block solid for 5 changes and catch-up is a game of nerves.

If you happen to work at the Airport as many in Devon and Leduc do, it is a case of driving in the ditch to get into the Airport and looking for a 2 count break in traffic to crash through to get home. 

Because of this Governments absolute lack of commitment  for this area it is a death trap waiting to happen (still again).

The article would not be complete without talking maintenance on that extremely high traffic road.   The service roads (36 St Provincial jurisdiction) are not sanded.   The whole highway 19 is a sheet of ice at the best of times with only a the very minimum  of effort and material put in to make the drive anything other than a death wish.   Fresh snow make a windblown skating rink and no sanders are ever seen on that road!

Industry from Nisku  traffic from Calmar and Devon use this highway and, it is the route given to permitted truckloads by the Department of Highways compounding the risks!   This invites the use of the large high powered pickup trucks with one person singing along, owning the road at 30 km faster than the general 80 km/hr the road allows.   On the gas and on the brakes.  Ignorant bastards inconsiderate of any one else on the road and on a daily basis leap-frogging traffic; cutting off a dozen vehicles every trip to Nisku with every impunity.

Where do you go in this Government to find accountability of the maintenance contractors or the sloppy planning of engineers capable of better?  Or of the acknowledgement that is is the Government that is killing people on that horrible stretch of road, not the drivers.

Map:

One light problem is at the 635-19 marker (above highway 2 North).  This access loop from 2 rushes in to close this light and will stay immobile for 7 or more light changes if a large truck is in play. (This is the preferred route for Alberta highways to permit large loads by)  Because of no synchronization all lights are compromised!

To the left; Range Rd 251B intersects with 36 St E across highway 19

Morning traffic  from Calmar Devon etc are trying for 2 destinations.  The main batch being Nisku; now blocked  by the light above.  Traffic at this point may stretch 15 km west along highway 19.   Vehicles at this point, (usually larger pickups bought for that reason) travel on the shoulder, partially in the ditch in a crush to get to the 36st turnoff into the Airport.

 In the evenings people trying to get home risk their lives;  yes! Really! To get onto highway 19 westbound.  Beyond the split second timing there is the problem of very poor maintenance on this road so there is no grit on the road either 19 or 36 st to provide traction for a quick and controlled crossing.

Edmonton's new Arena-30 million bucks out of municipalities!

The CRB is made up of communities surrounding Edmonton.  A regional board to sound ideas and make joint plans.   Each community as I understand it has one vote except for Edmonton which has a number of votes how many exactly I don't know.

The remainder 24 communities not wanting to face this as an election issue have come up with a proposal to back the idea of these same communities contributing to the Edmonton Arena.

What are we going to be on hooks for?
Mandel says they are short 30 million dollars to make the deal.  Each of these communities are going to be on hooks for 1.25 million dollars if this is the case!

Newer figures out are talking making up the 25 million dollar shortage (coincidentally there are 25 members in total to this organization) Which means each of these communities is going to be on hooks for 1 million dollars.   Paid over 3 years isn't that bad says Mayor Fisher.  Actually it is 416,000 dollars per year I personally would like to see go to other, local projects.

Capital Region Board arena vote prompts council debate

By Mark Wierzbicki

Friday, May 17, 2013 11:09:55 MDT  

An unexpected vote that topped up the City of Edmonton’s share of funding for a new downtown arena reverberated through the capital region late last week.

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The effects of the vote, in which Capital Region Board (CRB) members were asked to approve, in principle, an application for $25 million over three years in Regional Collaboration Grant funding for the City of Edmonton, which would be used towards the arena project, have proved controversial.

In a close and disputed vote at the CRB’s Thursday, May 9 meeting, the body seemed to approve the motion, which had been added to the agenda less than 24 hours before the meeting. Normally, such motions require seven days notice.

Devon Mayor Anita Fisher was among those voting to approve, though earlier in the same meeting she had also voted to defer the motion to the CRB’s June meeting in order to first consult Devon town council members.

The motion to defer was defeated, and the motion to the agreement in principle was then debated and passed.

Fisher’s vote did not commit any resources or funds from Devon for the potential funding, and no formal application for the funding is yet being made, but coun. Sheila Aitken protested Fisher’s vote at the Monday, May 13 Devon council meeting, asking why she would vote to approve the motion without first consulting council.

“A yes vote, when you don’t have enough information, and this council had no opportunity for input… The mayor is speaking on behalf of this council. You should have voted ‘no’, until you could have discussed it with this council.”

Fisher replied to Aitken, saying that the vote did not commit the town to any action or monetary obligation.

“(The vote) was in principle, and with the assurance that the Regional Collaboration Grant application requires an endorsement of council,” Fisher said. “I knew that there was no commitment that would be required from this municipality.”

Fisher also said that she believed that a new downtown Edmonton arena would be an economic driver for the region that would benefit the Town of Devon.
“I believe the saying is, ‘economic development floats all boats’. So I have mixed feelings with regards to this. I believe that we need to collaborate more effectively in regards to economic development in our sub-region as well as our entire region. I think the arena is an economic driver.”

Additional provincial funding under the Regional Collaboration program is expected to be announced later this month, which Edmonton would likely then apply for. Fisher said that would depend on a second vote at the next CRB meeting, booked for June 13. Though Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel has already said that he would be using the previous vote, which had support from 16 CRB members representing 95 per cent of the population in the region, for the application, the application would also require letters endorsed by the councils voting in support.

Council debated whether to require a council vote before any future CRB vote that does commit any kind of resources from the town.

That motion was not put on the floor, though council did vote to send a letter to the CRB expressing its displeasure with how the vote was handled.

“They clearly circumvented their policy by allowing a motion to be put on the floor and put a collective group of municipalities in a position of having to vote yes or no. I’m absolutely stunned that the board would even accept the motion,” Aitken said.

Some other councillors, including coun. Ray Ralph, agreed that the CRB should not have accepted the motion, but were not opposed to the motion per se, and cautioned council against tying the hands of its CRB delegate.

“The CRB’s been around for several years now and this is the first time something like this has come up, and unfortunately it came from the city of Edmonton, and the way it was brought forward was not the appropriate way to be brought forward in the first place, which did put a lot of mayors in a bad situation,” Ralph said.

“But I don’t want to tie our mayor’s hands at the table for doing regular duties that she’s been doing for the last five years. That wouldn’t make sense either.”
Council will be revisiting the matter, including whether to support the motion and whether to require council approval for certain future CRB votes, at its next meeting on Monday, May 27. That meeting will occur before the next CRB meeting.

On Wednesday, May 15 Edmonton city council finally reached a deal with the Oilers over funding for the arena. The team is to pay $161.5 million, while the city is kicking in $279 million, assuming the city is successful in the grant application.

Edmonton is also planning on applying for another $14 million in other grants, and a further $125 million is to come from a ticket tax.

Mandel expressed relief after the meeting as the fate of the arena, which has been in question for several years, was seemingly decided.
He said that he is expecting that ground will be broken early next year

The above article is out of the Devon Dispatch which also ran a story about the Town of Devon about to review the long term lease of the Devon Lions Club on the now famous Devon Lions Park!

The Devon Lions through volunteer efforts has built the park into  a Famous stop for visitors and is producing a decent  profit to sustain itself.  This is a non profit organization.

It seems rather obvious Mayor Fisher is about to do an end run on the park; take it over; increase fees; charge citizens for access to the park and so on.   All this to turn up coin to put into an Arena in Edmonton which serves the real purpose of stroking Mandel's ego

Town of Devon should really examine why they voted Fisher into this office; this is certainly not looking after the town of Devon.

People should contact their own councils and find out how this rip off is going to be paid.  Probably, on  your tax bill.