As fast as we can
Can you hear that? It’s the sound of residents still upset with local speed limits.
The issue, which was wrapped up in the more umbrella-like controversy of photo radar, was big in 2017, council members told the infrastructure committee on Wednesday.
Planners replied that two more major roads will be studied for changes this year, but changes elsewhere may mean more lights, which might negate any gain in travel time.
Chair Robert Dumanowski said he’s also now hearing growing opinion that the city should have “at least one” major cross town route with an elevated speed.
“Short of a remake of our transportation corridors, tweaks and optimization (like synchronizing traffic lights) may have to do for now,” Dumanowski said.
Municipal Works chief Dwight Brown said that’s the Trans-Canada Highway presently, and the want of a north-south route is obvious, but an expensive problem to solve.
By the way, Brown added, the last major speed limit review was in 2012 when the Trans-Canada Highway was examined by the city and province. It found the speed could actually be reduced, but the decision was made to maintain it at 80 km/h.
The rest of the story
It’s always been hoped that the “100 years ago” sector of this column would ignite some memory centres in the community.
This week local lawyer David Maclean was in touch to discuss the mention this month that, in 1918, two local school principals had been drafted.
One of the men, notes Maclean, would become the chief justice of Alberta’s Supreme Court Trial Division — the forerunner of what we know today as Court of Queen’s Bench.
After a stint in the newly minted Royal Canadian Air Force, Montreal Street School principal C. (Colin) Campbell McLaurin returned to Medicine Hat, but quickly changed careers.
Just 26 at the end of the war, he studied law, then joined the bar in 1922, became a judge in 1942 to eventually serve 16 years as top justice until his retirement in 1968.
“He was a hard man in many ways, but a very good judge,” recalls Maclean, who marks his 60th anniversary of joining the bar this year and argued cases before McLaurin.
“I guess the local bar association must have had an impression on him early in his working career.”
Bank clearings
A note in the Brooks Bulletin this week states the historic Bank of Commerce building in Bassano could be subject to a tax auction in coming years. The most recent owner has vacated the property, and there is some hope the local historical society could take over the space.
The building dates from 1906 and appears to be a less ornate version of the Bank of Commerce building that sits on Second Street in Medicine Hat.
Local lawyer Roy Link bought the structure about 25 years ago for use as his office. He tells the News this week he’s always been curious about the original bank buildings that sprung up around the region.
However, at this point, he’s not interested in bidding on the Bassano branch, or becoming a “Bank Collector.”
A look ahead
Mayor Ted Clugston’s “State of the City” address, jointly staged by the Kiwanis Club and Chamber of Commerce, is set to take place on Tuesday.
100 years ago
“No more will the housewife be able to pride herself on the whiteness of her bread,” the
News lamented in an editorial this week in 1918.
Incoming war rationing standards will restrict the amount of wheat that can be used to produce a barrel of flour. That assuredly means more and more “wheat berry” (bran and germ) would be required.
“No doubt there will be objection ... from those who think they cannot live without the whitest bread,” the editorial continued.
In the United States, President Woodrow Wilson ordered most industries close on Mondays for the next 10 weeks in order to secure fuel and coal supply for Naval, shipping and war industry purposes.
James Armstrong was elected to his sixth term as reeve of the RM of Excelsior, which surrounded Medicine Hat.
The Returning Veterans Association accepted a cheque for $60.29 from the father of a Orion soldier killed in France. The sum represented the balance of the estate of “Pte. Jackson.”
“The veterans deeply appreciate this generous gift from this heroic comrade who cannot now receive their thanks,” stated the News.