New MLA for Bonnyville – Cold Lake Scott Cyr wasted no time in making his presence felt in Legislature after taking a stand last week to press home the importance of investing in and developing Alberta's forgotten road – Highway 28.
As Rachel Notley revealed the NDP government would be following through with its promise of drafting up a multi-year capital plan, Cyr stepped up to the plate during his first week in session to drive home one of his “top priorities” for the region.
“This is one of the key things I campaigned on prior to the election… I truly believe Highway 28 is the key, critical artery of our riding. It's one of the worst roads in the entire province and it's time something was done to change that,” Cyr told the Nouvelle last week.
Former Premier Jim Prentice promised to develop the highway shortly after he was elected to office last fall and while the Lakeland had to wait for that promise to carry through, the PCs allocated $44 million to overhaul a 25 kilometre stretch of the road near Gibbons in its proposed 2015 budget. However, with the party losing out in the May 5 provincial election, whether the highway remains a priority for the new NDP government is not yet known.
While there may be some confusion as to where the roads sits priority wise on the provincial level, there can be no doubting Cyr's thoughts on the matter as he brought the issue forward to his fellow MLA's last Thursday.
“Right now, there are a heck of a lot of residents that do not use Highway 28, and it's not just people from the Bonnyville – Cold Lake riding avoiding it… People from the Athabasca region and the Lac La Biche – St. Paul riding are choosing not to drive the road too,” Cyr said. “Even though it's the shortest, most direct route into Edmonton, people are avoiding it. That's how bad the road is.”
With the province all set to move forward with plans to twin Highway 63 up to Fort McMurray, Cyr believes the NDPs could “kill two birds with one stone” and extend its planned twinning to include parts of Highway 28.
“I'd definitely like to see the road twinned between Edmonton and Highway 63… The level of traffic in that area is ridiculous at times,” Cyr said. “If we could sort that and then get some passing lanes for the different bottleneck (regions) of the road, we'll start to see some improvements (traffic wise).”
With Notley last week bringing in top Canadian financial adviser David Dodge to assist the NDPs in drafting its multi-year plan for Alberta, Cyr believes there may be an opportunity to secure funding for another regional project that appeared to be dead under the old PC government.
“The regional waterline from Cold Lake to Bonnyville absolutely, 100 per cent needs to be addressed,” Cyr said. “This is one of those things we cannot (negotiate on). Water is essential. It isn't a want it's a necessity. That particular project needs to be at the top of the list when we approach (the NDPs).”
Over 18 months on from the announcement that Cold Lake would be a suitable source of water for the region and the sizeable project has still yet to get underway. With estimates coming in at close to $100 million, local dignitaries charged with heading the project have struggled to come up with alternate funding sources after the PCs previously declared the project “was not on their radar”. Like Highway 28, that may now change with a new government with new philosophies firmly in place.
“I'm happy to see the NDPs coming forward with the announcement of this capital plan,” said Cyr, who also noted he would be fighting to ensure the province follows through on its promise to fund several seniors housing projects in the region.
“I'm looking forward to seeing where we sit as a region. We have a number of projects that I feel are deserving of provincial recognition and support and so if we find ourselves low down (on this priorities list), it will be my job to find out why.”
He added, “I truly believe this is a real opportunity, not only for us here in Bonnyville – Cold Lake, but for people and communities across the province. I myself will make sure I'm pushing strong to make sure the NDPs start getting this list together and I'll be making sure our voice is heard.”
