This letter is in response to the 1A-22-interchange upgrade.
While the upgrade is much needed and quite necessary, I as a provincial taxpayer am dismayed that the provincial government seems to be paying for the entire project.
The reason the interchange is so necessary is because for the last 25 years the Town of Cochrane and Rocky View County have systematically sold every square inch of real estate they could lay claim to every Tom , Dick and Harry developer with a plan to build on a hillside, a swamp or a river bank in search of a buck under the guise of progress.
Their greed has been at the expense of the surrounding area, residents and especially infrastructure. The past and current town and municipal councils have made a complete mess of the area and yet have the gall to whine and complain with their hands out for the province to fix their blatant shortsightedness. Then, on top of it all, MLA Cam Westhead thinks he’s a hero for “championing “the project until the government finally relented.
Congratulations, another $50 million of our money we don’t have. A nice distraction though I suppose from the rest of your incompetence. Why couldn’t this project be similar to the one slated for southeast Calgary where the city, the province and the developers all share in the cost to upgrade infrastructure. And how long will this upgrade be useful as long as there seems to be no end in sight of developing every square inch of dirt available with absolutely no foresight for infrastructure?
How long until negotiations start with the Stoneys for a ring road around Cochrane because of the complete hijacking of the 22 and 1A highways?
My advice to Mayor Ivan Brooker and Westhead is to keep some Bengay handy to prevent permanent damage to your shoulders from prolonged sessions of patting yourselves on the back.
Jim Richards
