Aldersyde - Interchange gets green light

By John Barlow
editor

Construction on the much anticipated Aldersyde interchange may begin as soon as this fall.
Highwood MLA George Groeneveld announced last Friday all of the land acquisition is in place and offers for tenders will begin this fall.
“This is tremendous,” said Groeneveld. “This is gratifying. There was a lot of pressure to get this done because we all knew there would be another death there.”
The interchange has been a controversial issue for more than a decade. There have been more than a dozen accidents and several fatalities at the junction sparking residents to lobby the provincial government to have the intersection upgraded.
The intersection is an at-grade junction of three major highways including Highway 7/2A, Secondary Highway 547 and the six-lane Highway 2.
The only traffic control at the intersection is stop signs for east-west traffic which must cross four lanes of high speed traffic.
In addition, there is significant truck traffic at the intersection due to the proximity of Mullen Transportation, Cargill Foods and the fact Highway 2 is the major north-south trade route.
Although the land acquisition has been completed, Groeneveld said he will remain diligent to ensure construction begins as soon as possible.
“We have to stick to our guns and make this happen,” he said.
Foothills residents have been teased with the Aldersyde interchange in the past.
Former Transportation Minister Ed Stelmach, speaking at the Progressive Conservative Highwood Constituency Association dinner in 2003, said in an interview with the Western Wheel that the Aldersyde project would be completed by 2006. The year 2006 is just around the corner and a shovel has yet to strike the ground.
However, after another serious accident last April Groeneveld, who was elected in November, 2004, promised to make the Aldersyde interchange his top priority.
Groeneveld brought up the issue in Question Period saying, “There isn’t a worse intersection on Highway 2 between Edmonton and Mexico. It is just a disaster.”
At the time Transportation Minister Lyle Oberg stated the reason for the delay was land acquisition had been a problem.
That issue has since been addressed.
Groeneveld said a budget for the interchange has not been completed, but if some work can be done this fall he said he hopes the project will be completed in late 2007.
However, he admitted there are some issues which may delay construction including a petition from landowners in the Silver Tip subdivision east of Highway 2 opposing a service road parallel to Highway 2 and proposed design changes to the interchange.
Alberta Transportation has changed the interchange from a loop design like the Okotoks overpass to stop lights on each end of the bridge.
Groeneveld called the change “ridiculous” and will lobby to have the adjustment reversed.
• • • •
The lights at the intersection of Highway 7 and Southridge Drive in Okotoks continue to be delayed.
Although there is now a speed reduction to 70 km/h on Highway 7 through the intersection, Groeneveld said he will continue to push for traffic lights at the intersection.
The lights were to be erected this summer.

Drivers fuming over gas prices

By Matt Powers
Staff Reporter

Chris Friesen had thought the sky had fallen when he noticed the price of gas at $00.6 along his commute to Calgary. Unfortunately, it wasn’t because gas prices had dropped, but because the Husky gas station simply didn’t have enough room to tack on the one in front of the zeros.
In Okotoks the price of gas hasn’t yet surpassed the dollar mark, but that hasn’t stopped people from fuming as they filled up their tanks.
“There’s not much I can do about it, I have to get to work, but if the prices keep rising it might just be cheaper to rent a hotel room rather than make the commute,” Friesen said.
The concerns probably don’t bother the federal government much because they are happily taking in 38 per cent of the profits at the pump in Alberta in gas taxes. Why is there so much being taxed?
The government’s original argument for imposing higher gasoline taxes was to curb consumption. However, that hasn’t been to effective as gasoline sales have steadily increased. According to Statistics Canada, retail gasoline sales in 1985 were a little more than 32 billion litres. By 2004, they had gone to 40 billion litres.
In the meantime, Ottawa is making a killing. In the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the federal government collected $4.5 billion in combined federal gasoline and diesel taxes, an 18 per cent increase over what was collected 10 years earlier. One explanation for the rise is the steady increase in gasoline tax rates. The federal gasoline levy increased 567 per cent between 1985 and 1995 — from 1.5 cents per litre to 10 cents per litre.
Where the extra money will end up will be in the hands of the government, but in an informal poll conducted outside of Petro-Canada in Okotoks four out of 10 people suggested that it go back into the roads and transportation.
“If we’re spending all that money to drive, then our roads should be in great shape,” said Grant Parker.
Kevin Ryan, a tax consultant, agreed that gasoline taxes should go back into the roads.
“I know I’d be more willing to accept these steep prices if I knew the government was funneling the money into transportation and repairs,” Ryan said. “It is unfortunate that not enough will be done if there isn’t anyone to voice themselves and it is left in the hands of the government.”
If nothing does happen and gas prices continue to remain high it seems the only choice people have is to find ways to cut back.
“What I’ve done is scaled back on the distances I drive when going on vacation or heading out on the weekend. I also try to combine errands in order to save money on gas,” Friesen said.
Another popular method of cutting back on gas expenses has been trading in for a smaller car and in some extreme cases, selling the car and buying a bike.