Highway 69

To the editor of the Sudbury Star

I have been up and down Highway 69 to Parry Sound and beyond for the third time in a week. I have driven this road more times than I can possibly keep track of over the last 35 years.

As I travel along, I have time to think about the problems of the two lane link to the south. The biggest drawback is the limitation these two lanes place on resolving speed differentials among drivers. The average speed which most cars travel is well above the speed limit but is not, in my opinion, excessive. However, there are cars traveling various speeds from below the 90 KPH limit to the fast movers.

Then you have the trucks and RV's which are unable to move at the same pace as the average traffic. Combine the faster vehicles with one slow-moving truck or car, add steady oncoming traffic, and you have lineups of cars, none of which are able to travel their preferred speed.

The passing lanes alleviate this somewhat, but they are limited and only allow so many to pass before ending. Also, strangely, some of the slower cars seem to speed up in the passing lanes.

With the lineups and limited ability to pass, some drivers get frustrated. While they should be cool and wait a bit, they resort to tailgating, passing in unsafe situations and other hazardous behaviour. Based on my life experience, I don't think any amount of education will change this and the enforcement budget is barely enough to put a token police presence on the road.

The solution is to four-lane Highway 69. No big news there. The current plan is to provide a complete limited access highway that will take 12 years and more than $1 billion to complete. As a taxpayer and a traveler, I ask why?

I would be happy to see the existing right of way widened to create a four lane road similar to Regional Road 80 from Sudbury to Val Caron. This would allow faster traffic to get by expeditiously, reducing the high risk behaviours, and would not cut off side roads and local businesses.

And all of this could be done in a fraction of the time and at a much lower cost than the current plan. Also, by not relocating right away, all the environmental studies and negative impacts would be avoided.

Why spend our tax dollars on something that is way more than what we really need?