Cynthia King

Mayor Kevin Jenkins, Minister Ronnie MacKinley, MLA Cynthia Dunsford (photo by Brian Simpson)

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal

A major rehabilitation project on the Stratford Road will improve the safety of the road and improve its condition during the spring thaw, says Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Ron MacKinley.

“Stratford is Prince Edward Island’s fastest growing municipality and it’s very important that the roads in the community are able to handle the ever increasing traffic,” says Minister MacKinley. “The work the province is doing here, through Build PEI, will improve the condition of the road overall, and it will greatly reduce the impact of the spring thaw, which causes severe frost heaves and pot holes on a yearly basis.”

The $1.8 million project will see the road completely rebuilt from Barkley Avenue to Keppoch Road. Twenty-four new catch basins are being installed, along with a completely redesigned storm sewer system. That work will help mitigate many of the drainage issues on Stratford Road that often result in severe damage during the spring. The project will also see a curve flattened to improve safety, the sidewalk will be completely rebuilt and the shoulders will provide extra safety for cyclists.

“I am very excited to see the province moving ahead with this project,” says Stratford-Kinlock MLA Cynthia Dunsford. “Residents know how much damage can be caused to this road during the spring thaw. The work the province is doing here will help reduce the amount of damage to the road, it will help improve the safety of the road for pedestrians and cyclists, and it will help address the ever growing traffic volume in the community.”

Crews expect the work to be complete near the end of October.

Media Contact: Andrew Sprague

Share the Road, Stratford Rd.

Cyclists across PEI have been trying to educate and activate governments, both municipally and provincially for decades. It is great to see the City of Charlottetown listening, learning and implementing plans for safer cycling.
Over here in Stratford, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal has included ‘share the road’ signage and wider shoulders for cyclists.
Progress is happening and those who have been working on this should be congratulated for the work done to date:
Cycling PEI, all of those cyclists who have called and emailed TIR and their towns and cities departments, the governments and planners themselves and of course, motorists for learning how to share the road better with cyclists.

As mentioned, TIR has been working in my district of Stratford-Kinlock to make things safer with signage and wide shoulders:

- 12 Share the Road signs in high traffic areas in Stratford.
- 1.5 metre shoulders on both sides of the Stratford Rd. between Barclay and the blue church.

The City of Charlottetown now has these two areas with official bike lanes which includes painted lines and bike stenciled logos:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Brackley Point Road to Mount Edward Road;
- Maple Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Ash Drive.

Immediate plans to create dedicated bike lanes are in the works for the following areas:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Mount Edward Road through the new roundabout to Queen Street.
- Queen Street. The road doesn’t have the necessary width for a dedicated bike lane so the city will be putting up ‘Share the Road’ signage.
- Oak Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Pine Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to the roundabout. That section will also be completely resurfaced.
- Allen Street, from the roundabout to the Confederation Trail.
- Allen Street, from the trail to Queen Street will be designated with ‘Share the Road’ signs.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to Woodlawn Drive. Work is now taking place on the shoulder of the road.
- University Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Capital Drive.

Let’s keep those wheels turning and make PEI safer for cyclists! in fact, let’s get out there and ride our bikes and get some exercise, save money on gas and help reduce our carbon footprint!

Stratford Road Construction 2010

Originally uploaded by cynthia dunsford

Please be extra careful for the next couple of months while construction takes place on the Stratford Road between the blue church and Barclay St. TIR is doing their best to keep the site safe but the public needs to take extra caution. Drive slowly and be prepared to stop suddenly. Try and stay off your cell phones even if you are using your bluetooth. Any distraction can cause a fender bender.

Full reconstruction of the road includes:

- cold planing the existing asphalt full depth;
- excavating the subbase;
- placing select borrow (sandstone);
- placing 300 mm of Class ‘A’ gravel;
- placing 110 mm of asphalt base (in two lifts);
- placing 45 mm of asphalt seal;
- replacing 900 metres of storm sewer;
- replacing approximately 25 catch basins (storm manholes);
- replacing the arch culvert between Quiet Water and Redding Heights with a concrete box culvert;
- placing new concrete curb along both sides of this section;
- replacing the sidewalk along the north side of the road;
- mill and pave 50 mm of asphalt through the Stratford Road/Keppoch Road intersection;
- improvements to the alignment of the Bayside Drive intersection;

There will also be a safe cycling shoulder on BOTH sides of the road of at least 1.5 metres. Work on the remainder of the Stratford Rd. to Glen Stewart Dr. is expected to begin after the completion of this project.

This morning I joined Jason Aspin and Paul Jamer of AKA  for the Expansion Announcement this morning at Aspin Kemp & Associates on Myrtle Ave. in Stratford. The announcement was made possible by PEI’s Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning Minister and ACOA. Ministers Allan Campbell and Keith Ashfield were both on hand to congratulate and encourage AKA in their future growth and development.

Congratulations to Aspin Kemp for such a successful first year on Prince Edward Island. Their company has grown considerably since coming to PEI just over a year ago. They quickly grew out of their initial space in the Stratford Business Park and now occupy a much larger space where all of their projects can be developed and tested. Good to see Aspin Kemp employing skilled Islanders and giving them valuable experience all over the world. Aspin Kemp is making Stratford and PEI a better place to live and work.

PEI has a decent start to a Province-wide lawn pesticide ban. There is more work to do with the regulations, but for now let’s start learning about the safe ways to take care of our lawns.

Safe Lawns dot org is a great resource, and in fact, Paul Tukey, founder of Safe Lawns dot org, is traveling across PEI to help Islanders learn about organic lawn care. He is also giving a very comprehensive back story about the history of lawn pesticides and the public’s reaction to their use. He also provides some real practical solutions for those concerned about the look of their lawn. There was a great turnout at the Charlottetown session. The evening viewing of the film “Chemical Reaction” was a smaller crowd, but the film was available for sale, and I bought one, so let me know if you want to check it out. Fascinating piece of work and worth watching.

One of the ideas for applying organic fertilizer to your lawn is Compost Tea! Which includes steeping some compost for a certain amount of time and applying the liquid to your lawn. Luck for us here on PEI there is a new business starting up in Oyster Bed called “Oyster Bed Compost”. Owner, Sid Annema, is producing a high value compost tea available to the public very soon.

His contact info is:

Sid Annema
902-628-5845
sidney_annema@hotmailcom

Here is the contact info for the Department of Environment Energy and Forestry:

The decision to include safer pathways for cyclists and pedestrians along Riverside Drive and University Ave. in Charlottetown is welcomed with open arms! This represents a real beginning to making PEI a safer place. As a member of the cycling community on PEI, I have been working hard to push the safety agenda, which includes the helmet law and safe pathways.

Now the work begins to educate and promote safe riding for cyclists and motorists. Real lessons on how to share the road.

Below is a video produced by The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority. Great tips for sharing the road:

Share the Road – Buses and Bicycles from Chicago Bicycle Program on Vimeo.

I have created a Google Map to help locate potholes in Stratford. Please help by signing in to Google Maps and placing markers where the potholes are. By helping you will help keep Stratford roads safe.

I will send the map to the Department of Transportation and Public Works every couple of days to ensure they are up to date and can act quickly to repair our roads.

Thank you,

Cynthia

In case you missed this release by the PEI Literacy Alliance back in March of 2008:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2008

PEI ranks near bottom in health literacy

This is the conclusion of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA)’s Expert Panel on Health Literacy.  Their report spotlights health literacy in Canada and the picture is troubling.  The situation is serious and costly.

Health Literacy is the ability to get, understand and use information for health.

Catherine O’Bryan, Executive Director of the PEI Literacy Alliance, knows that literacy and health literacy are closely linked.  “I wasn’t surprised to read that education levels are a key determinant of health literacy. What is surprising is that reading every day is the most important activity to improve health literacy.”

The CPHA report says that 62% of Islanders have low health literacy, which puts PEI 11th among Canada’s 13 provinces and territories.  With an aging population and increasing incidences of chronic disease, the panel says the problem will get worse.

The report recommends that all levels of government need to be involved. Canada should make efforts to:

1. improve literacy and health literacy
2. provide equal opportunities for everyone to develop literacy and health literacy skills
3. improve the systems that provide health information and services to people with all levels of literacy and health literacy

Health literacy is a serious problem. There is momentum for action and many promising initiatives could be strengthened.  Ms O’Bryan agrees there is a strong case for timely action, but we need political will, organizational leadership and strong efforts of practitioners and the public.

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CONTACT: Catherine O’Bryan, PEI Literacy Alliance, 368-3620

The following is today’s release by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The following is distributed by Island Information Service at the request of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Islanders Encouraged to Participate in Family Literacy Activities

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, January 26, 2010 – Wednesday, January 27 has been proclaimed Family Literacy Day in Prince Edward Island by Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie.

“Family Literacy Day reminds us of the great things that happen when families read and learn together,” says Minister Currie. “The way that reading is valued and practiced in the home can have more influence on a child’s learning than anything else.”
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is providing  $50,000 this year to support projects that draw families together in activities that foster a love of reading. One of the 24 family literacy grants was recently awarded to a group of Cornwall partners to offer the Spring into Reading program.  With the support of the department, this program has been offered in several Island communities over the years.  It has achieved excellent results in helping children learn to read and in coaching parents to support their children’s literacy development at home.

Spring Into Reading was offered this year to kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2 students and families in Cornwall. The project was a partnership of Cornwall early childhood centres and kindergarten programs, Westwood Primary School, the Westwood Home and School Association, the public library and the Town of Cornwall.  Participants say the project surpassed their expectations to strengthen the children’s literacy skills and the parents’ ability to support their children’s learning.

“Improving literacy in our One Island Community is a key priority of government,” said Minister Currie. “Reading is the foundation skill for all learning.  We are very pleased to support family literacy because it is an important link to a child’s success throughout the school years, to the health of Islanders, and to the future prosperity of the province.”

For information about family literacy programs, contact the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development at www.gov.pe.ca/eecd or the PEI Literacy Alliance at www.pei.literacy.ca.

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For information contact:
Jean Doherty
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
902 368 6449

TERESA WRIGHT
The Guardian

A backbench MLA is putting together a private member’s bill proposing to create an ombudsman for the P.E.I. government.
P.E.I. is currently the only province without such an ombudsman, but Stratford-Kinlock MLA Cynthia Dunsford would like to see that rectified.
“(The ombudsman) could take on a lot of different inquiries and different complaints that people might have,” Dunsford said.
“Those calls or complaints can be categorized into alternate kinds of actions that could be taken to help people, which an ombudsman would be able to do very effectively.”
A similar private member’s bill was introduced 10 years ago by former NDP MLA Herb Dickieson. It did not pass but was debated extensively in the legislature and in the end did win the support of seven MLAs in a vote of 13-7. Several members abstained from voting on the issue.
The concerns raised at the time revolved around whether an ombudsman would change the role of MLAs in their dealings with the public.
Dunsford, who has been doing extensive research into the policies enacted by other provinces, said she does not believe such a figure would call into question the role of elected politicians on P.E.I.
Islanders are infamous for calling their MLAs for complaints or concerns both big and small, and that will not change with the addition of an ombudsman, Dunsford said.
“We are always going to get those calls and that’s fine because people generally just need direction and we may be able to help them and that’s a good thing,” she said.
“But there are areas that an MLA should not be looking into or can’t look into. There are limitations to what we can do and how we can help and it’s very frustrating as an MLA and somebody calls you with an issue that you can’t really get involved in because it would be something that would be seen as interference — because we’re political figures, we’re not bureaucrats.”
The addition of a provincial government ombudsman was a promise made by the Liberals during the 2007 election campaign, but on Thursday Premier Robert Ghiz said such a new position would be an added expense the province may not be able to afford right now.
But he didn’t rule it out as a future possibility.
“As we know, there was a bit of a financial downturn in the world economy over the last year or so,” Ghiz said.
“This probably won’t be happening this year, but we’ll definitely be looking for it for the year after as a definite possibility.”
Dunsford said her private member’s bill is not ready to be tabled during this session of the legislature anyway, as she is still conducting research and comparing the practices and policies of ombudsman in other provinces.
“This is something that will still require a fair bit of work,” she said.

THIS is good news!! Congratulations and thank you to the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society and The PEI Environmental Health Coalition. Without your help this would not have happened.

TERESA WRIGHT
The Guardian