So many roads, so little money
Amember of Prince Edward Island’s Legislative Assembly has stated a Canadian Automobile Association online poll will have zero impact on what roads in his riding will have repaving work carried out on them this year. O’Leary-Inverness MLA Robert Henderson said he will, instead, make decisions based on his own tour of the roads in his riding.
That’s not to say the Brae Harbour Road, which throughout the week was running third in online voting for worst road in Atlantic Canada, won’t get attention. Henderson simply suggests it’s still too soon to make the decision.
He’s right. Spring breakup is just getting started. Some roads that are in half-decent shape right now might look very different in a month’s time. It would be foolhardy, actually, for an MLA to admit to giving weight to an online voting campaign. That would be akin to the old “squeaky wheel” philosophy, where the group that’s the loudest always wins. If the squeaky wheel worked all the time, then all roads on P.E.I. would be perfectly smooth all the time, and government finances would be even further down the toilet. The Brae Harbour Road is in poor condition and requires attention; there is no question about that.
But many other roads in O’Leary-Inverness, and in ridings across Prince Edward Island, are in poor condition and require attention. Committing in early April to repaving a section of road and then having to pull back because another road falls to pieces would just cause grief for the politician, for government and for the people who travel those roads.
The CAA-Atlantic campaign, however, does have its positives. It helps drive home the importance of having good, safe roads. The roads in P.E.I. really are a mixed bag with pot holes, heaves and dips. As motorists, we need to be aware of that reality, especially during spring break-up, and drive accordingly.
And we need to be like the Brae Harbour Road users and squeak a little too, so that politicians know where the problems are and make a genuine effort to respond to the needs. There are so many needs that those who do not speak up run the risk of being overlooked or missed, and that would be unfortunate.
The road you use regularly, is it in poor condition? If it is, make sure your politician knows about its shortcomings.
Decisions need to be fair
Still with roads, a former Liberal MLA, now sitting as an independent, has levelled a serious allegation. Bush Dumville suggested the Liberal government had some extra money for road work last year, but only for Liberal-held ridings.
Allowing politicians, of any political stripe, to decide what roads get extra attention is blantant patronage. The decisions need to be fair and based on several factors, including condition of the road, motorist safety, amount and type of traffic, but never on where the “X” is placed on the ballot. Those decisions need to be made by staff – not politicians.