The issue of roads is always a hot one on the political scene. It can make or break politicians.
Remember a couple of years ago when then Transportation Minister Tom Rideout got rapped on the knuckles, and then quit his position over seeking more money for his district in Green Bay.
It’s a hot topic and one people feel passionate about.
We need no more evidence than two recent letters to the editor published in The Charter and The Telegram from Colinet residents making a very valid argument for paving of a dirt road between Colinet and Placentia, Route 91.
As these gentlemen rightly pointed out, that road once provided access to this area before the Argentia Access Road was built and one that now, with plenty of work in Long Harbour and area, could be invaluable to the people who live in the region.
Placentia-St. Mary’s MHA Felix Collins is well aware of the need and desire of people in the Colinet area to have easier access to the Placentia area, according to his comments in an interview published in this week’s edition.
Still, though, he notes, there are other needy areas, including Ship Harbour and in the Cape Shore. He said it depends on his budget allocation as to what decision he makes about what work can get done.
That’s fair enough, but if there are lots of people in the St. Mary’s Bay-Colinet area who agree with the idea of getting Route 91 paved, then they should begin writing their MHA now. After all, it is often numbers that helps a politician make decisions like what road gets first priority for the money handed out each year.
This is an election year after all, and no better time than that to put the pressure on a politician to ensure one road less travelled becomes busier, and ends up a road more travelled.
Elizabeth MacDonald, Editor, The Charter
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