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badcomputer.org

Wednesday, November 9, 2005.

Hello again. Don't let the lack of updates in this space fool you, I am still adding/changing content here all the time. I just never really could get into a strict regimen of journaling. So as for new stuff, I changed the photos section a little. I will add more photos soon. I have updated dir2ogg a few times, and currently have a pre-release that could use testing. And also, I have added some short scripts to the unix page that you can just read, or download in .gz format.

Trans-Canada Killer

I just returned from a short trip to Edmonton. I drove the northern Yellowhead route there, and decided to come back via the southern Calgary route. Now over the years I have driven both routes many times and I am now quite familiar with them, and generally prefer the southern Trans-Canada route for a couple reasons: The first reason is I think the scenic beauty makes for a nicer drive, and the second is that the southern route is not as remote, and as such you are generally closer to civilization at any given time. I think though, after this last trip I will choose the northern route exclusively.

The reason being, even though the northern route is longer (1031 km vs 955 km) it takes considerably less time. One of the major reasons for this brings me to the point of this whole thing. The entire stretch of road between Kamloops and the Alberta border needs to be twinned for safety, tourism, and other economic reasons. This idea is not new, and it is certainly not mine. The recent trip has just increased my interest in this matter, after seeing the billboard just out side of golden which declares: Fix the Trans-Canada Highway in huge letters.

The 225 km section of highway between Sicamous and the Alberta border contains three of the four most deadly sections of the entire 7821 km Trans-Canada Highway: 1. Rogers Pass section, 2. Kicking-Horse Canyon section, and 3. Kicking-Horse Pass section (ie: the "Big Hill"). The other dangerous stretch is the Fraser Canyon section, but the danger is offset because most travellers use the Coquihalla between Kamloops and Hope.

The fact remains though, that this stretch is a 225 km embarassment to the Canadian people, and a lesson in risking your life to the 12000 truckers, tourists, and other assorted travelers that drive this section every day. Almost this entire section is two lane undivided highway that twists and turns itself up and down steep grades, navigates treacherous corners, and perches itself on the side of the mountain with rock face on one side and a several-hundred meter drop off into the canyon below on the other. This forces tractor-trailers to slow to as low as 30km/h in some sections. Not a good way to make time, or improve the mood of the alpha-driver in the porche behind. Add to this the huge amounts of snow that Rogers Pass and Kicking-Horse receive 6 months of the year and you have something to be scared about.

I'm not saying stay off the road, but just make sure when the sign tells you to slow for the corner, you may want to take the advice. Look after yourself, but keep your eyes on others as well.

Long term the road will need to be fixed, and in fact the money is there to do it. For three years now a 43% fuel tax has been making it's way to Ottawa, promised to be spent on highways and highway infrastructure. In reality only 4% of the approximate 4.7 billion annually collected makes it's way back into the roads.

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