It is a terrible thing when you have to risk your life in order to save your life. Yet this is a choice many in the north have to make. Prince George is where most of the health specialists, surgeons and diagnostic services are to be found.
For many of us, that can mean several hours of travel on winter roads. It's hard to know until the morning you wake up whether it will be safe to go. How do you not go?
We wait for appointments, we wait for diagnostic services, we wait for surgery - how do we not head down the highway on our designated day?
On Jan. 21, 2014, the B.C. Government designated major portions of Highway 16 and 97 in the north as Class A highways.
Think about that; highways from Prince George to Chetwynd, from Prince Rupert to the B.C.-Alberta border were considered Class B until that date.
At a very basic level, this meant that contractors had three days to deal with a snow storm. Class A means final snow removal must take place in two days. Is that even good enough?
It's hard not feel inconsequential, if not expendable, in the north. Because of sanding and plowing, paint does not last long.
It is exhausting to drive hours on a dark road when the lines are barely visible. It can take months before they are repainted.
We wait for brush to be removed from the sides of the roads so we can better spot moose and deer. We wait for snow removal and sand for icy roads.
It's deadly. In fact, it was a shocking number of deaths in a short period in 2014 that prompted the upgrade of our highways in the first place.
People need to slow down. But the Government of B.C. also needs to take responsibility for ensuring contract specifications are both adequate and met.
Is there sufficient oversight? Is there enough money in the contracts to keep us safe? I salute the incredibly brave workers that do our road maintenance.
They want us to be safe, too.
One solution is to make it possible for us to make a more educated decision when we take to the roads. If I knew when the sand truck was heading out, I would follow it.
Trucks and plows could be fitted with GPS trackers. Contractors could post the times the trucks are heading out online. When I check the road cams, I could see when the next truck was going.
People in the north matter. There are solutions.
Kelley Inden
Fort St. James
