Letter to the Editor: Falling on deaf ears

Three articles in the July 21st Banner were spot on. Many hundreds more would add their support to Beth Proven’s statements regarding the tragic consequences of the MB Dept. Of Transportation and Infrastructure’s (MDTI) heel dragging on badly needed safety improvememts to the intersection at highways #5 and #1.

Mr. Waddell’s point about the muddled bureaucracy and lack of common sense by the heavy thinkers at the department of highways is well taken and sadly not new.

His subsequent editorial in the July 28th Banner really brings this point home, along with a great deal of frustration.

It is interesting that there was an article from Manitoba Public Insurance lamenting the negative impact of speeding and the high rate of speeding among a good percentage of motorists.

So what did MDTI do in several cases to address safety? Nothing, or made moves that increased the risk to motorists.

They increased the speeds on the Trans Canada to 110 km/hr. Now your habitual speeders drive up to 118 km/hr without a worry of getting a ticket.

They didn’t immediately put in an 80 km/hr zone at the Carberry intersection or post a speed fines doubled sign after the horrific accident in June. Both very cheap meaningfull actions from a safety and a “we hear you” perspective.

Another example that makes no sense is when they rejected, several years ago, a request by the Town of Carberry to have a reduced speed zone on #5 highway on the east side of town where several roads out of town intersect said highway.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that reducing the speed on this stretch of road until after McCain Foods and the Starch Plant make good “Safety Sense.”

As Mr. Waddell points out, who knows better than local residents and representatives what changes are required to improve safety. Road users from any community can tell you where change is required to increase safety.

The best we get is vague promises and dismissive correspondence about studying the situation.

Isn’t it MDTI’s mandate to make our roads as safe as possible? Wouldn’t it be nice if they showed the expedient concern that these life and death issues deserve?

I wonder if they will get rid of the piano that is dragging them down and stop lamely citing regulations since another serious accident had happened at highways #5 and #1 on Monday, July 31?

Don’t hold your breath.

Rob Bjarnason Carberry, MB

Letter to the editor: The solution is at the ballot box

Continued from Page 5

The Pallister-Stephanson government have been big on tax cuts and reducing the size of the civil service. Their 2023 budget announced almost $1 billion in revenue cuts achieved in part by adjusting the provincial income tax brackets with the following results. The average saving for the bottom 20 percent of Manitoba tax fillers in 2024 is reported to be $37.00 per person while the average benefit for persons making $101,300 will be $1322.00. When I suggested to the picketers that their reduction in real income over the previous five years was being utilized to provide income and property tax cuts for the more affluent members of society they became rather emotional. The solution to their problem will not be found on the picket line but in the ballot boxes of the October 23 provincial election. I drove home from this exchange asking, is it a legitimate role of government to systematically impoverish its employees? How many of the picketers I had spoken to had been previously charmed by a promise of future tax cuts recognize that they and their fellow civil servants are being called upon to fund these tax cuts through wage reductions and lay-offs. Will they be able to connect the dots between their loss of income and employment with the tax cuts that have been lavished upon the more affluent members of our society? We must now wait until the evening of October 23 for the answer.

Fred Tait Rosendale, MB