Another Slap In The Face For Windsor

From TruckNews.com, this very interesting story.

I saw also in the Windsor Star that Eddie said that "Council will meet with Pupatello and Duncan on Friday as part of a regular series of get-togethers to discuss issues."

Perhaps grovelling and apologizing could be Item #1 on the Agenda so some of that $300 million can be used for infrastructure work and JOBS in building the road to the existing bridge at least until someone figures out what we are doing! We cannot afford the snubbing any longer.

• Sault Ste. Marie to get road makeover from the province
  
  By: Steven Macleod
  TORONTO, Ont. -- The Ontario government is investing $9 million for the City of Sault Ste. Marie to improve its municipal infrastructure, announced Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar.
  
  "More than 130,000 commercial trucks transport approximately $3.6 billion worth of goods through Sault Ste. Marie to get to the International Bridge crossing each year," said Takhar. "It is vital these roads are kept in good repair to improve safety and traffic flow until the new truck route is complete."
  
  The investment is part of a larger plan to improve traffic flow and remove truck traffic from downtown streets, which will assist the city in maintaining and repairing roads, which have been used to link provincial truck traffic to the bridge crossing.
  
  "The elimination of truck traffic from our busy downtown streets is great news for Sault Ste. Marie drivers," said Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti. "Our government's $9 million dollar investment will be used to significantly improve these roads, which over the years, have incurred substantial wear and tear from highway traffic."

For those of you who do not remember what I wrote before "For those of you who do not know, the Soo is looking at MULTI MODAL opportunities [BLOG: February 17, 2006 "Highway 401 Has Been Completed To The Border"]

• "Our position at the north end of US Interstate 75, an underutilized highway that connects with Highway 17 at our City and the International Bridge between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is not congested unlike other border city locations in Southern Ontario. A Multi Modal Transportation Hub in Sault Ste. Marie would help ease congestion problems in Southern Ontario."

Now not only do we have to worry about Sarnia taking our business, now we have to worry about the Soo too.

But wait, I have an idea....let's dispatch a fact finding mission to Sault Ste. Marie. How are municipal leaders able to boast such definitive economic development and renewal of their historic downtown without in-camera council meetings? How is Mayor Rowswell able to work with Council, allowing various committees to do their job while not micromanaging? Is it because he doesn’t need credit.

Windsor must test the waters for Sister City status with Sault Ste. Marie, know as the “Soo” since Windsor is also know as the “Sue [the DRIC, the Province…]."

It is unbelievable isn't it!!!! Did Sault Ste. Marie spend $2 million on studies, alternatives and options? NO! Did Sault Ste. Marie hire an environmental attorney to rattle the litigation sabre from the municipality against Provincial & Federal offers of help? NO! Did the Soo WAAAAYYYY north of Windsor demand impractical tunnels, get involved with scare-mongering of citizens, create trial balloons for over 3 years of study only to end up with a plan to say NO! to anything and offer no leadership? No!

Sault Ste. Marie is going to get trucks off municipal streets and the Province is working side by side with them. What can Windsor learn?

1. the Province is prepared to help;
2. local leaders must be willing to solve problems rather than posture; and
3. Windsor will continue to be marginalized without true local leadership.