Truck traffic

Dear sir:
I am writing this letter in regards to the pulpwood spill at the corner of Portage Avenue and Nelson Street.
So far, this spill, along with the one which occurred in the 900 block of Scott Street a while back, have both dumped their load on vacant ground.
These incidents remind me of the story of the fella who fell off a 10-story building. As he was falling, people on each floor kept hearing him say, “so far, so good…so far, so good.”
I have the greatest respect for the driving capabilities of the truck drivers who must negotiate the twists and turns of the truck route and the high density of traffic on Scott Street–and let’s not forget the twists and turns of the old ugly international bridge.
However, accidents do happen, but must they happen in the downtown area. The fact is if the new street that the town is proposing to build was in use, the recent pulpwood spill could have very well ended up on the steps of the Royal Canadian Legion and some parked cars.
My point is that there is a serious problem. With the building of the Voyageur Panel plant at Barwick, we now have pulpwood trucks going west as well as east down our main street, along with many other transport trucks, and it is time to address the problem.
The solution to the pulpwood truck traffic was, in fact, part of the official town plan back in 1979, until another corporation decided to do things their way.
On Oct. 31, 1979, the following headline appeared in the Fort Frances Times. “CN construction scheme disregards town plan.” The following is a paragraph from the writeup:
“The town’s official plan had called for a bypass across the northern part of town, along Eighth Street, to serve as an access for pulpwood trucks and for servicing the west end.”
The town’s future negotiations with Boise Cascade Ltd., whereby Boise would move its woodyards from the Shevlin location to the industrial park in the northwest part of town, also were scrapped because of the CN’s disregard for the town’s plan.
The Town of Fort Frances is in itself a corporation and should work for its shareholders, its citizens, and its second industry, tourism, not for the shareholders of another corporation.
Other communities have solved the same problem, why can’t Fort Frances. Then again, maybe it is not seen as a problem.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Ron MacGregor