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Sad state
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dear editor:
I can’t believe (in fact there’s many of us who can’t believe) the sad state our roads are in within the Town of Fort Frances.
It’s ridiculous and uncalled for to have all this work being done at the same time.
The subway job was to be a year’s work and here we are in the second year and we are told it’s 25 more weeks (with seven of those restricted to no traffic for certain periods of the day due to a health and safety issue, but we are allowed to walk on the narrow pedestrian walkway).
I guess, in some strange way, it makes sense you can walk but not drive, but I have no idea what that is.
Also the work on Central Avenue—was that necessary as there are many streets in town that need attention? One, for example, is Fifth Street West.
Oh, I forgot, we got grant money for Central Avenue and everything else gets forgotten about even if our taxes increase (I was told by a person employed by Public Works that we haven’t seen a tax increase yet and just wait and see).
I have lived here almost 28 years now and as far as I know, there has never been a water or sewer problem there unlike the 100 block of Second Street East that has had three water problems in the last two years, but are ignored and now we have plans for work on a lot of main areas in town.
You can forget getting visitors to come because if I were them, I would drive as far away as I could. We should be proud of our town and encourage visitors to come here—not discourage them.
Our town leaders are creating a big problem here and hopefully they can sort it out before any more damage is done.
Thank you for your time.
Signed,
Judy Webster
Fort Frances, Ont.
Fort Frances - if you live
Submitted by Dr Robert W. Webster BSc, MD, CCFP (not verified) on Sat, 28/06/2008 - 1:45pm.
Fort Frances - if you live in the North end - there are only 2 ways to get to the rest of the town - via the subway or via McIrvine. Then to have central avenue another major thoroughfare under construction does not seem to make a lot of sense. It seems that the major north/south or east/west trave routes are blocked. While I understand the government does put various grants on the table with specific timelines to get work done and the money to be spent - I bet you the City of Toronto would not go for something that would be similar to shutting down the Don Valley Parkway and limiting 401 access through Toronto.
One of the advantages of small town living is the ease of getting around - with the current construction mess this is lost. While some may say the line-ups and the delay will cause more money to be spent in the town - yeah right. Imagine yourself as a tourist stuck in line on your vacation - that last thing on your mind is spending money in that town - it is how to get out of here and how do I make sure I do not have come back through here.
Mind you - what do I know, I just have a pathetic decade of university education.
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Sad People
To all you self-declared engineers, mayors, capital project experts and the list goes on.Sometimes projects receive funding and the time lines are laid out from the different Ministries.Sadly there is no option of changing that timing. It may be an inconvenience but Yes, for two months, if that, there may be crazy line ups, you may not be able to drive your truck home for lunch on Thursdays or Fridays, or you may have to leave a little later on your way to the cabin but in the back of your mind you should be thankful that the lineup signifies money being spent in the Canadian economy. Instead of blaming people for those silly eyesores that don't meet your expectations or blaming people for unexpected problems that arise during capital project implementations you really should not dwell on such idiotic thought patterns. Everyone has certain expectations in life but are those expectations in the bigger scheme of things really important and realistic. Probably not. Lastly, I guess I did not have to University to become a certified professional because by the sounds of it, living in "Pleasantville" automatically gives you a degree and makes you an expert.