Dear Editor,
In the Town of Sylvan Lake there was an information meeting on the highway 781/11 intersection.
The meeting was attended by Kerry Towle, the Wildrose Party MLA for the Innisfail/Sylvan Lake constituency, along with hundreds of voters (taxpayers) and Liberal candidate Les Vidok who ran against Kerry in the provincial election, also one county councillor — all in attendance to show support and to ask Kerry to continue their quest to have 781 remain open so that there is a safe way to enter and exit Sylvan Lake
The greatest thing about this meeting was that we finally have an MLA, Kerry Towle, who is willing to listen to the wishes of the voters and that the Liberal candidate was willing to stand by to have the right thing done. When two parties come together in support of the voters you would hope that Alison Redford would notice and hear the people with their concerns and not just brush them aside as the government has done for the last 40 years.
The battle over the realignment and twinning of 781/11 and the right-in right-out has been going on since Alberta Transportation started twinning Highway 11 in the early 1990s.
Building the RCMP station and fire hall on 781 (50 Street) will increase their response time to anyone living south on 781 or in the surrounding area. It does not make sense. There needs to be lights or some safe solution to this issue.
The alternative Memorial Trail will move traffic out of and into Sylvan Lake but in turn it has and will cause traffic accidents and congestion at the Highway 20 and 11 intersection.
The cost of this project sits at $6.4 million and will possibly cost taxpayers even more.
The cost of lights is anywhere from half a million to a million dollars.
Not one member of town council attended the meeting. Some were on vacation but each and every one of them needs to state their stand on this matter. Hopefully, as elected members, they will stand with the voters to raise this issue with the Honourable Ric McIver, Minister of Transportation.
Garth Wood,
Sylvan Lake