Premier Christy Clark, recently you supported MLA Eric Foster in his campaign to extend a road through an environmental reserve and route tractor-trailers, and many other vehicles through a residential area and on to a narrow busy commercial street.
This traffic would then congest a very busy intersection, while these vehicles crossed a major city highway on to another two-lane city road, passing Home Depot, Kal Tire, Superstore, and many other businesses where traffic is also heavy. At the end of this street, the large vehicles will struggle to make a right-hand turn on to another city road, which will take them to an intersection which will allow them to get back on Highway 97. The total distance these vehicles will have to travel is about 3.7 kilometres and the cost of the road work to accommodate this redirection of traffic is $9.5 million. The alternative is a simple traffic light on Highway 97, at the Stickle Road intersection, (with advanced warning signals), at an approximate cost of $500,000.
Foster did arrange for the Ministry of Transportation to put on three dog-and pony shows to the citizens of Vernon, trying to convince us of the merits of this proposal. But each one was soundly rejected by the electorate, and the MoT arguments in support of this proposal were weak and illogical. MoT has also stated that this traffic light will be required anyway within five to 10 years.
What possible motivation could you have to keep pushing this idiotic plan so aggressively? And also, does spending $9 million unnecessarily meet your criteria of protecting taxpayers' dollars? After many weeks of constituent’s letters filling The Morning Star, we are now mounting a campaign to get rid of Foster, and the closer we get to the May election, the more aggressive we will become.
Enough is enough. A package is also being prepared for BCTV with maps and copies of letters, which, if we can get it on the air, will show the whole province the lengths the B.C. Liberal Party will go to push their own agenda. Please can you take a second look at this proposal?