The Guardian (Charlottetown)

Broken roads frustrate MLA

- BY DAVE STEWART

Opposition MLA Colin LaVie says no Islander should have to turn to the media to get a P.E.I. road fixed.

LaVie brought one West Prince farmer’s concerns to question period in the legislatur­e on Friday.

While he didn’t name the farmer or the area the farmer lives in, LaVie said the man grew so frustrated at his attempts to contact MLAs over a road in disrepair he felt he had no other option but to turn to the media. And, he pointed out once the story saw the light of day it was only then that the transporta­tion department acted.

“We know that roads in rural P.E.I. are in rough shape,’’ LaVie said. “Some have really broken down over the last 10 years.’’

LaVie first asked Robert Henderson, minister of agricultur­e, what the process is for getting roads fixed. Henderson replied that he tries to work with the road supervisor when informed of a broken road by constituen­ts. And, the minister said roads that need repair are prioritize­d every year.

That’s when LaVie said there’s something wrong with the process, referring to the farmer and the broken road in West Prince.

“The road was broken up so bad that they were driving on the shoulder of the road,’’ LaVie said. “With the big machinery that is dangerous so he went to his local MLA (and) his local MLA passed him on to another local MLA that said it was in his district.

“Number 2 MLA sent him back to the first MLA so he didn’t know what to do so he called the transporta­tion minister. How do residents make sure bad roads don’t become political footballs?’’

Transporta­tion Minister Paula Biggar then stepped in, explaining that government has invested millions of dollars in roads and is now able to fix more roads than ever.

“We are under a new collective agreement with the feds now,’’ Biggar said. “Any roads that have 1,000 cars or more on it are now eligible for 50/50 (provincial/ federal) funding so we can invest more money. It depends on how much traffic is on the road.’’

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