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Dear Sustainable Maritimes people,
Just recently I got a letter from Ron Russell, NS Minister of Transportation
& Public Works in reply to one I had written. Minister Russell informs me
that as soon as his Department gets money, they will get to work twinning
the 101. Bad news for greenhouse gas emissions and even for safety concerns!
I just spoke with Bill Estabrooks, the NDP Transportation critic. He says
Howard Epstein (currently NDP Justice critic) has been speaking out
energetically to explain the folly of twinning the 101 and to propose
alternatives but that there is LOTS of pressure to twin the 101.
In other words, unless those of us who care DO something, our money will be
wasted & our future will be put in jeopardy on this highways expansion plan.
Below is a copy of the letter from Ron Russell and a copy of the letter I
wrote to him. Also info so you can write your own letters. And phone calls
can make a difference too.
Interesting how quickly the government backed down on the plan to subsidize
hockey teams when so many people protested that plan. Sometimes protests do
seem to have an effect!
all the best, Jan
*******************************************************
from: Ronald S. Russell, CD, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, PO
box 186, Halifax, NS, B3J 2N2
cc to: Mr. Bill Estabrooks, Mr. Paul MacEwan
Dear Mr. Slakov,
Thank you for your e-mail of Jan. 24, 2000 regarding Highway 101.
You make a valuable contribution to the debate over highway safety in our
province. As you point out, there are indeed other options to twinning the
101, but our department believes none of them is better.
Allow me to give an example of the importance of divided highways. From 1994
through 1999 (six years), there were 35 fatal accidents on this highway.
Twenty-three (65 percent) of those were head-on collisions.
By twinning the highway, we would eliminate the risk of such collisions and
we would save so much grief and pain. That, you will agree, would not be
"wasteful folly".
Unfortunately, this province does not have the money to twin our highways as
quickly as we would like. Even if the federal government agrees to pay its
fair share, the work is costly and time-consuming. With that in mind, we are
looking for any reasoned suggestions to help make our roads safer in the
interim.
New highway construction does not mean we will run roughshod over the
sensitive ecosystems in our province. We have carried out environmental
testing around the 101 for many years. As a matter of fact, we have a tender
out right now for a environmental consultant. That consultant will study our
various environmental assessments and tell us if our testing has been
thorough enough or if we should do more.
Rest assured, with every step we take to improve safety on Highway 101, we
will respect our province's environment and its financial well-being.
With personal regards,
Ronald S. Russell, CD
Minister
**********************************************************
A couple things are upsetting to me (Jan) in this reply. The minister seems
to think that the only environmental concerns he needs to address are of
very limited scope - eg. whether or not they will be paving over some
endangered species!
Also, as many of you probably know, this government is adamant it will "cut
the deficit", even if it has to cut its own throat in the process! For
instance, the government announced it planned to cut a local library (the
CPRP) which lends out resources in French to schools all across the
province. There are legitimate reasons for questioning whether or not the
government would even be able to save any money if it were to close down the
CPRP. But closing the CPRP would certainly diminsh quality of life for many
students, employees, etc. And, of course, in terms of environmental
"deficits", libraries make sense because they are a way of sharing
resources. Highways do not make sense because when we invest in them, we
dissuade people from sharing resources and encourage them to increase their
reliance on fossile fuel consumption.
***************************************************************
from: Jan Slakov, secretary, Enviro-Clare, Box 35, Weymouth, NS B0W 3T0
(902) 837-4980
to: <russellr@gov.ns.ca>
The Hon. Ron Russell
Minister of Transport
Dear Ron Russell,
I am a member of the Climate Change Caucus of the Nova Scotia Environmental
Network and we have recently been discussing transportation issues. Many of
us feel strongly that twinning the 101 would be a wasteful folly.
Actually, not only do members of the Climate Change Caucus feel this way, I
consulted with members of our local environmental group (who live in the
area served by the 101), and most of us also feel that other options should
be chosen rather than the twinning of the 101 idea.
There are other options! For instance, an editorial from the Hants Journal
was reprinted in the Digby Courier on Dec. 22 (and other weeklies too). It
describes some of these other options. Also, the well-known group, Transport
2000 can offer good suggestions as well.
I ask that you reply to my letter as soon as possible and let me know if you
intend to promote the idea of twinning the 101 or if you are committed to
finding less expensive, more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
I strongly suggest that you not go ahead with any plans to twin the 101
without first consulting with interested groups, including the
Transportation Issues committee of the Ecology Action Centre, Transport
2000, the NSEN Climate Change Caucus, Sonia Wood, who has been lobbying
strongly for the idea of getting the highway twinned, and the general public.
Sincerely,
Jan Slakov
c.c. The Hon. Bill Estabrooks <billestabrooks@navnet.net>
The Hon. Paul MacEwan <macewapw@gov.ns.ca>
****************************************************
Note: You can write to any MLA at the following address: PO Box 1617,
Halifax, NS, B3J 2Y3. (Postage is needed for letters to MLAs, but not for
federal MPs.)
Ron Russell's e-mail address is : <russellr@gov.ns.ca>
If ever you need to find out contact info, etc. here are the numbers to call:
For the NDP, their caucus office: 424-4134.
For the Liberals, the caucus office: 424-8637
For the PCs, 1-800-363-1998 or (902) 424-2040
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