The Ministry of Crown Lands will be having a PUBLIC MEETING April 24, 1991 at the Inn of the West - Terrace at 7:00 p.m. : to discuss the new -.* Commercial Backcountry Recreation Policy Contact: Ed Opal 847-7334 Discussion paper available at: MLA Constituency Office, 4663 Lazelie Avenue, Terrace, B.C, MINISTRY OF CROWNLANDS "Honourable: Dave Parker, Minister Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 3, 1991 A3 Yet another local traffic hazard under examination TERRACE — Options for solving “a few of the traffic flow problems within the confines of the city can be found in a recently completed | Ministry of Highways corridor study, but for one regional district . director that study may have been too narrow in scope. According to Les Watmough, there is a need to - address a conflict between cars and ' large trucks caused by the design and proximity of the Highway 16- 37 four-way stop intersection and the adjacent commercial vehicle weigh scales. . The major flaw, says Watmough, is that the weigh scales are designed to handle traffic in only one direction, from west to east, and the greatest hazard is created by westbound truck traffic headed for Terrace or Kitimat. These trucks must pull up nearly to the four-way stop and make a left- hand turn into the weigh scales against east-bound traffic. And, according to Watmough, "That’s the best part." Once finished at the scales, these same trucks must compete with two-way traffic in order to makea left-hand turn back onto Highway 16., and Watmough says that due to the high volume of traffic there it can be a "long" wait. "They must get bored," he says of the drivers. But besides being boring and hazardous, Watmough say this turn is also hard on the pavement. Because of the short turing radius, tandem tires "scrub" and tear the pavement. These trucks do eventually squeeze into the traffic flow, how- ever, and this brings them to the four-way stop. Through traffic to Terrace isn’t a great problem, but trucks turning left onto Highway 37 can be a hazard. Area ’C’ director Sandy Sandhals helped Watmough make his point by describing one incident that cost a local logging truck driver a ticket for undue care and attention and a A SERIES OF REPORTS ON THE YEAR 2000 SCHOOL PROGRAM “The Year 2000 program “means survival for our industries.” Keith Gray, Vice-President, Business Council of B.C. t' . Grade 3 students couver, learn basic computer skills, Keith Gray on the impact of the Year 2000 program: Tecumseh Elementary School, Eas | “The program itself is a positive action. If it functions as F I think it will, it will give our children the personal skills they | need plus basic literacy, numeracy and computer skills. “The Year 2000 program means survival for our industries. There are 600,000 unfilled jobs that require skilled people in Canada. Our school system must develop If you would like additional information, or would like to become involved with the continuing changes to B.C.'s school ” system, mail the coupon below. Learning the basics Reading, writing and arithmetic still form the core of British Columbia's elementary school instruction, But now, under the Year 2000 program, we've added new basics. Decision making. Problem solving. Communicating. Computer literacy. We're preparing our children to take their places in a fast-changing workplace. The new program allows them to succeed at their own best pace, so they'll avoid early failures. So they'll gain the sense of self-worth they need to stay in school. The Year 2000 pro- gram nurtures a lifelong desire for leaming. And that’s essential if we're going to meet the competi- tive challenges of the year 2000. : ala MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Hon. Stanley B. Hagen, Minister young men and women 1 ap Ge GEE TERE gaye with the aptitudes Communications Branch, to fit into the _ Ministry of Education : Province of British Columbia changin & " - . Parliament Buildings workplace. _ Victoria, B.C. VBV2M4- (NAME. “Kerth Gray. be ert és ~ ADDRESS Business Counc ot BC. re Please send me a copy of CHANGES IN EDUCATION - Set. A Guide to Parents. _ Please send me information _on how ] can become involved. ; $4,000 penalty on his insurance. According to Sandhals, the driver of the truck was in the process of making a left-hand turn onto High- way 37 at about the same time a school bus was coming to a stop in the through lane. As the truck driver began his turn, the end of the logs he was hauling struck the bus, Of course trucks heading from Terrace to Kitimat must also make these same hazardous tums after driving straight through the inter- section and taking the circuitous route through the weigh scales. And the same goes for trucks on their way to Terrace from Kitimat. But there are a couple of directions of travel that are relatively safe. Driving from Terrace or Kitimat towards Prince George is a fairly straight forward affair. In general though, Watmough describes the conflicting traffic flows at. the weigh scales and Highway 16-37 intersection as a "very dangerous situation", but he offers the Ministry of Highways what he calls an "extremely simple" cure for the problem. "The problem is in the loop," he explains. There is only one set of lights to contro] truck traffic and that means trucks can only approach the scales from the west. If there was a second set of lights for traffic from the opposite direc- tion, though, says Watmough, there would be no problem at all. The scales could be open to eastbound traffic from both Ter- race and Kitimat at certain hours of the day; these trucks would head through the scales from west to east with minimal conflict with other traffic. The only exit from the weigh scales would be a right turn onto Highway 16. At other times, the scales would be open to traffic from east to west and would handie traffic headed from Terrace to Kitimat, from Kitimat to Terrace and from points east to either Kitimat or Terrace. All traffic would exit the scales onto Highway 37 and make a right-hand turn to Terrace or a left hand turn to Kitimat. The Ministry of Highways corri- dor study didn’t really include the Highway 16-37 intersection but offer an indication that there may be a growing traffic problem there. Data collected at a counting point between the Dudley Little Bridge and Highway 16-37 intersection in July, 1989, shows a 54 percent increase in traffic compared to 1976, At the same time, another counting point east of the intersec- tion shows a 72 percent increase since 1976, And during a one-day count . taken at three points on the High- way 16 Terrace corridor, the corri- dor study indicates that, on the average, vehicular traffic on local .. highways consists of something like 88.8 percent cars, pickups, RVs and motorcycles, 4.6 percent buses and single unit trucks, and R66 percent tractor trailers and B- trains.