(This letter was sent to multiple Island newspapers on June 8, 2023. Published: June 12 Times Colonist.)
Dear Editor,
We have four alternatives to Highway 4. Three roads are controlled by Mosaic Forest Company and one railway escaped the fire and floods but not decades of Government neglect. It is time for Government’s stubborn, ideological resistance to expanding our publicly owned transportation networks to end.
The Ministry has demonstrated its preference for the “Valley Link†between Cowichan, Alberni, and Comox, including servicing Nitinat, Anacla, and Bamfield, with its upgrades to the Bamfield road, so finish the job: Take over the forestry roads and extend Highway 18. While you’re at it, compensate and work with First Nations to rebuild the railway and provide resilience and new options for all residents and businesses.
Billions of dollars in economic activity is being wasted by road closures because Government has allowed our transportation networks to deteriorate and become reliant on single points of failure.
Sincerely stuck in my beautiful home (again),
Chris Alemany
Port Alberni