Monday, 29 July 2013

A Bridge Too Far




This region sponsored project stands to jeopardize the safety of some 900 elementary children who attend Grapeview and Mother Teresa just 200-300m away. This interchange is unprecedented in Ontario.

The Region gives five examples of schools within 500 meters of an interchange. The Grapeview neighbourhood is unique because it has two schools — Grapeview and Mother Teresa elementary schools — within 200 meters of each other.

Why is a massive project being rammed into a quiet residential community when there are other viable options? 

The Ministry of Transportation did expropriate/ purchase land for this interchange back in the 1970's and 1980's, but the city allowed the neighbourhood to grow...houses along Third Avenue in the 80's and 90's, Jubilee Fellowship church in 1991 and Mother Teresa School opened its doors in September 2005!

Yet land on Videl Court sold to a developer in 2007! How is that possible? Perhaps it’s time to look at who owns the required property along the proposed projects route?

Why are the tax payers of Niagara being asked to pay for this project? Why should tax payers in Fort Erie, Welland, Niagara Falls, Grimsby, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake as well as St. Catharines subsidize land developers?

Make your voice heard by the politicians, email stop406interchange@gmail.com to sign our as well as our change.org petition at http://bit.ly/KeepOurKidsSafePetition.

Even our pre-eminent Rankin Construction CEO Tom Rankin, with his extensive experience in traffic engineering called the Region's plan for a new interchange at Third Avenue ‘the wrong plan’. He said a ‘cardinal rule of development’ is not to run a highway into a residential area.

Should the region ask Mr. Rankin for his credentials as an engineer?

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