Why can't we work together, to the benefit of all people? Janet Ballantyne and her Gravel Watch Group’s ("GWG") main mission is to stop the development of a gravel deposit on the north side of Burma Road in the Bearspaw area. It’s too bad they don't present meaningful and truthful arguments.
One such topic is silica dust. There is no proof that silica dust is a health hazard. It’s the same fear mongering that is associated with drilling oil wells and how water wells will be destroyed. No proof, and as a result, no respect. The (GWG) should present truthful facts and arguments and possible solutions instead of all of their negativity. Eighty per cent of the submissions from residents signed a form letter requesting setbacks greater than 500 metres. Setbacks sound great but 500 to 800 metres would sterilize most of the potential gravel deposits. Even large landholdings would be sterilized and become uneconomic if 500 to 800 metres became policy. A quarter section (160 acres) is 800 metres in width. That leaves enough room to build a road into the middle of a section of land (640 acres) to develop nothing. Please show me one gravel deposit in Rocky View County that would be economic under your setback guidelines proposal. I doubt you could find one place west of the Highway 2 from High River to north of Edmonton.
Gravel, like oil, is a necessity in order for people to function on a daily basis. Without oil and gravel, 99.9 per cent of people living in North America would not have a place to live, work or as a means to travel from A to B. Oil provides fuel for your car to go where you want. The road your vehicle drives on was built with gravel and oil. If your driveway or residence was build with concrete, guess what, gravel is the main ingredient. Oil and gas are both part of our present and foreseeable future.
There are some great places to develop gravel without much disruption to anybody. The GWG paints a picture of doom and gloom and negativity toward the entire gravel industry. Truth be known, the real problem with gravel pits is not within the gravel pit, it’s after the truck hauling the gravel hits the hardtop. I believe the gravel industry could do a better job making sure gravel is not falling off the sides and rear of the trucks hauling the gravel. Broken and chipped windshields upset a lot of drivers. The average person is annoyed when they have to break for a slow moving trucker. Trucks that can't drive the posted speed limit up hills is another problem.
The government (Alberta Transportation) moves at a snail’s pace. Roads are not twinned and intersections remain unsafe. It seems it takes the loss of lives before road infrastructure is completed. The haul route into Calgary has a number of intersections that need to be updated. A number of hills should have a slow lane and a passing lane. Safety is an issue but it’s not the gravel industry's fault.
I would suggest the GWG should lobby the government and Alberta Transportation for improved intersections and passing lanes on hills.
There are concerns when any kind of development takes place. I wonder what would happen if the gravel company proposing to develop the Burma lands decided not to develop its gravel resource and instead applied to the County to develop the land as a residential development? Not in my backyard. Terry L. Raymond
