Pedestrians and drivers share safety responsibility _ By MARGARET SPEIRS DESPITE WHAT: people May think, pedestrians do © not always ' have right- ~of- way. Local. driver Graham Maguire said several pedeés- trians have crossed in front of him at the intersection. of Park Ave. and Kalum St., _ taking their lives into their ' hands and seemingly not caring. - ° “It’s ‘getting ridiculous down there,” he said. “There have been lots of accidents. at the corner and it’s because people are stu- pid. 3” . ‘ He witnessed three pe- destrians i in one week cross-.. ing illegally, including one , woman who walked against’ . the red light on Kalum St. and then turned to cross Park ‘Ave as the light there was . also changing to red. ° “They don’t * think | the ” rules .apply to them,” he” said. o., ‘He added if he hit some- | one “they’d be ‘smeared -all over the windshield” of his Volkswagon van. Maguire said even if the people looked and didn’t see_ him before . walking,. that’s “no excuse. “It doesn’t . matter. "-They’re walking against a red light,”"he said, adding -he leaned on the horn and hit the brakes to avoid one care- less jaywalker. Drivers are also to blame : for their bad. behaviour, he said. a “You know: Fve been a ; pedestrian too and walked °- across: the crosswalk - and. . _cars swerve around you,” he said. Maguire, who’s lived on Park Ave. for 20 years, said the traffic problems have’ become. ‘worse oyer the last couple of years. . “You go stand there on the corner and in half an crossing at inappropriate times. ». ‘A local resident says the intersection at Park Ave. and Kalum St. is particularly bad when it comes to pedestrians Safety a two-way street DUSTIN QUEZADA PHOTO ‘hour you'll see somebody. ‘run ‘the light,” he said about ‘the intersection at Kalum and Park. He hopes police will place .. [f . officers at the intersection to catch the lawbreakers. - “I'd. like to see some - . people getting some serious tickets,” he said. “Maybe that'll wake them. - up a bit. I have to follow the | _tules, they should too.” Pedestrians can face SeV- eral fines for failing to yield _Tight-of-way to drivers. Entering a roadway when it’s not safe — jaywalking — and failing to use a sidewalk both carry a fine of $109. Disobeying a member of a school patrol, can result in ahefty $167 fine. A prévalent problem jis . people who put their heads ‘down and walk without look- ing, said Sgt. Don Murray of ‘Sgt. Don Murray the local highway patrol. “A truck or transport truck is a little. bit harder, than you are and you’re go- ing to lose,” said Murray, adding that walking with- Pre-Poid Cord fr 4 - Giel ne a qualifying” pr oulucl Corte Pre, gas vouchers when you pu qurchase GE gas or electric belwet en April 6 - ‘May 28, cooking, 20 JO. nese out looking often applies to adults rather than youth. Pedestrians need to re- ' member * that “having _ the . Tight-of-way doesn’t always . mean they’ re right. _ “You may be right but "are you going to live” Mur- © ~ ray said. Drivers have’ to be care- ful and be mindful that they " have to yield to pedestrians - crossing at an unmarked crosswalk, such as at’an in-; - tersection with a stop sign. “Tt can be frustrating but - 7 it’s S.a two- -way street, ” he. said. ; “Motorists have to watch. out but the onus is on pedes- trians to have a bit of com- mon sense and be cautious as well.” Establishing eye contact ensures driver and pedestri- ‘ans see each other, which should prevent an accident,” Finally, you can grocery shopping | | 141 trust him to do the * Canadian Environmental Assessmant Agency he said. “Just because you figure “you have right-of-way legal- ‘ly, you might be right, but ‘the person driving may not | see you or may not care and. you may get hurt,” he said. « Const. Mike Lavric, also « of the local highway patrol, ' aid that, on average, drivers take one to two seconds to react to what’s happening. If a pedestrian steps out onto the street, time passes before the sight: of that per- son registers in a driver’ Ss. brain. s Tt takes: additional time for the driver to think about braking and then more time for the driver to brake, he said. The faster drivers are travelling, the longer. they -heed to react, and the longer ‘the braking distance of the ~ | vehicle will be. 0 Kitimat LNG Terminal 1 Project: Public Comment Invited _ ee ~ on the Comprehensive Study. Report -_ The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency _ ' invites the public to comment on the conclusions, ° ’ recommendations and any other aspect of the Comprehensive study report prepared for the News In Brief The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - A3 : an he , Cullen gets a raise ... SKEENA-BULKLEY MP Nathan Cullen got a raise in pay as of April 1, as did all of his peers in Ottawa. He was making $144,300 a year but is now making $147,700, a hike of 2.5 per cent. In 2004, the job of MP paid $141, 200 a year and it is all taxable income. Salaries for Members of Parliament used to be tied to any increase given the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. But that has now changed so that MPs are given the same increase as reflected .in union . contracts for federal civil servants. If MPs received a raise, so did Prime Minister Ste- phen Harper, cabinet ministers and other elected of: . ‘ficials holding additional responsibilities. -Harper’s salary as Prime Minister, in addition to his MP's wage, is now $147, 700 a year while cabinet min- isters receive an. additional $70,800 a year. Ontario MP: Bill Graham, who is now the Liberal opposition leader, receives $70,800 on top of his MP's’ ’ pay while NDP leader Jack Layton i is paid an’ addition- al $50,400 a year. a wae . And so does Austin | “Skeena NDP MLA Robin ‘Austin also received a raise as of April 1. ° “He had been making $74, 100 2 a ‘year but that ‘has’ » Now increased to $75, 400, which works out to 1.75 per cent. i v4 ~ Salaries of provincial legislators are determined by” as ‘a formula that includes the Consumer Price Index; ' Liberal and NDP MLAs late last. year decided on - - fairly substantial wage hikes, but the plan was stopped - in its tracks after widepsread protests. - Those pay increases would have come with a 1 for mula for annual i increases equal t to those provided MPs , in Ottawa. Austin also receives more ‘money ‘because he is the " _chair of the legislative committee on aquaculture, but that figure did not increase as of April 1. Police seize liquor — and drugs from vehicle ° A KINCOLITH | resident was found - with’ a large quantity of alcohol and what police believe to be illegal : ' drugs in her vehicle when she was stopped during a: vehicle check the afternoon of. April 15. Police seized about 120 grams of what they say was | “Marijuana, six 750ml bottles of vodka, 12-375ml bot-" tles of vodka and two cases of beer from the ‘46-year- old, who was stopped along the Nisga’a Hwy between : “Gitwinksilhkw and Greenville. _ Const. Josh Richdale of the Nass Valley RCMP said ; , he wasn’t sure of the street value of the alleged mari- } - _juana but said it was a significant amount. | Police seized the alcohol because it was a large quantity, he said. The woman, who isn’t known to police, was driv- ..ing.a truck that.belonged to one of her-three adult-pas- - sengers. A child was also travelling with her..Police - _ continue to investigate and charges are pending. © "'-”’ e For more information, viel wrered.! 4 or col the Hart and Btrcke Foundation ‘et 1-900-HOF-INFO ey ‘The report Is also ovate by visiting the | - Agency's Web site: www r Contact: Virginia Charron ’ Riverlodge Recreation Centre proposed Kitimat LNG Terminal Project. Public comments received by May 26, 2006 will be - considered. “The report will be available for public viewing in the © following centres: District of Kitimat, City Hall ' 270 City Centre . Kitimat, BC . 7 . st Contact: Tim Gleig Oe : -Tel.: (250) 632-8900 Kitimat Public Library | ‘940 Wakdshan Avenue _ Kitimat, BC: Tel.: (250) 632-8985 654 Columbia Avenue . Kitimat, BC Contact: Joe lannarelli " Tel.: (250) 632-8970 \ Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine 300-4545 Lazelle Avenue Terrace, BC Contact: Bob Marcellin Tel.: (250) 61 5-6100 “Ah Kitamaat Band Office 260 Kitlope Street Kitamaat Village, BC. . Contact: Diane Barbetti Tel.: (250) 639- 9361 ext. 202 \ Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Vancouver Office — 757 West Hastings Street, Suite 320 | Vancouver, BC * Contact: Margaret Bakelaar |.: (604) 666-6961 8 7 Vancouver, BC V6C 1A1 To obtain a copy of the. compréhensive study” report, please contact the Agency program officer noted below. Interested persons or groups are invited to send their remarks to the Agency in the official language of their choice to the following: - a Margaret Bakelaar ey Senior Program Officer ~ Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 757 West Hastings Street, Suite $20 | Tel.:(604)666-6961 (as Fax: (604) 666-6990 mT margaret bakelaar@osaer2°2e,9¢-c8 | w An t Note: All documents received will become. part of the public registry. 7 Kitimat LNG Inc. is proposing to construct and operate a LNG import, regasification and pipeline '- send-out terminal on a site along Douglas Channel,» approximately 14 km south of Kitimat. The terminal would include marine off-loading, LNG storage, natural gas liquids recovery, regasifi ication and pipeline send-out facilities. “In accordance with the Canadian Environmerital Assessment Act, Transport Canada, Environment Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the responsible authorities for this project, , have undertaken a. comprehensive study of the - project and have submitted their report to the Minister of the Environment and to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. earner ae