In the Citizen of Tues. May 29, 2012 Coun. Brian Skakun was quoted "We have people that
come in from the Regional District that use our roads everyday that do not pay our road tax.
This is about sharing."
He was suggesting a gas tax to help pay for street repairs. Most rural people use more gas just because they live outside the of the downtown areas.
I am not sure that Coun. Skakun realizes that the City of Prince George is part of the regional
district, so the city streets and roads are in fact the regional district's too. Nevertheless we do
understand the point.
While it is true that rural people come into the city each day for work, shopping etc., there are many people from the city that go into the rural areas where they are employed as well. The rural people that come in, most often leave much of their money in the city with various businesses and services but those who go out do not.
We rural dwellers share much more than just our roads and usually happily. Some of the tax revenues from the rural regional district is used to help with city expenses, the museum, art gallery, the cultural and heritage fund, the railway and forestry museum etc. When we use city facilities we pay the same user fees as does everyone else. The only cemetery is the one on Hwy 16 West and if one does not have an address inside city limits the fees to bury or cremate us are higher than they are for the city dwellers.
Many areas are even outside the volunteer fire dept. areas but do not have enough people, close enough together, to form a dept. so our insurance is higher.
We have to provide and maintain our own water and sewage systems, and we have to haul our
own garbage (and any left behind) to dumping areas that the regional tax maintains.
Many city dwellers use rural roads for a myriad of recreational reasons. They use regional
parks, they go fishing, boating, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, etc. They use roads, lakes,
rivers, campsites, recreational day sites,and trails. Some even go off road onto private property
and chew up private trails and roads, and they use this property to party on and use as toilets.
Some even leave their garbage and broken booze bottles behind.
They are sometimes careless with cigarettes and campfires risking the whole area with forest fires. I do not think that this would be tolerated in most parts of downtown. The RCMP or the bylaws officer would be summoned. Then comes hunting season and it gets worse.
I know that it is a choice to live in rural areas, some of which are inside city boundaries. It is not
because it is cheaper to do so, anyone that thinks it is cheaper should take their head out of
their sandbox and think again.
It is a two way street (or road) and we must all try to co-operate and willingly share with each
other. I have lived inside the city but prefer to live out here where it is usually quiet and more
relaxed.
Irene Redlon
Prince George
