Letter To The LFP Editor From Gloria Stelting - Re: We Need Better Snow Clearing for Safety (Snows Die-Hard Part 1of4)

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From: Gloria Stelting
To: mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca
Subject: Langley Emergency Response Vehicles deal with unplowed residential road
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:54:34 -0800

Dear Honourable Members of Langley Council,

Langley Emergency Response Team resources are hampered and their precious time wasted by extremely bad driving conditions on residential roads. This RCMP officer was fortunate that he only had to walk down the block to get 2 firefighters to push his vehicle free from where it was stuck in the snowy intersection at 50th Ave and 246th St. There are a large number of senior citizens on 50th Ave. Many of the residence have lived here and paid taxes for over 30 years. Any of these could easily be in need of emergency services at anytime. This RCMP cruiser was not the only vehicle to be stuck at this corner in the last several snowy days.

Please have a look at these photos. I took them on Saturday Dec 27, 2008 from my front yard. The location is visible with the street sign marker in the photo showing the On Call Firefighters pushing the RCMP vehicle.
Would not the cost of these 3 members of the Langley Emergency Response Team be better spent otherwise? One driver of a snow plow to clear the road for everyone would seem like better financial management. This maybe possible if the Langley Snowplowing Policy was review.

I would not have been able to get in & out of my residence during this recent snow accumulation without my 4 wheel drive pickup. Not everyone has these. Our traffic is single lane. We really need a flag person. Even 4 wheel drive vehicles are getting stuck in the deep snow when attempting to go off the one set of tracks. The only way to pass oncoming traffic is to locate a cleared driveway. I would ask that you direct staff to please do not send garbage and recycling trucks down our road to jam it up evn more until vehicles can safely pass each other.

I would like to note that I did personally notice the improvement in the condition of Fraser Highway in Langley since TOL has taken over responsibility of plowing it. In the late morning of Wednesday Dec 24, Highway #1 from Sumas to 264th was snow covered with traffic trying to set tracks while Fraser Highway from 264th to 248th Streets that I drove was bare and wet. However, both 264th and 248th Streets were covered in snow like Highway #1.

We need necessities like snow plowing. It is important for our safety. If we can not afford this, then we certainly can not afford luxury items like an "events center", a Township golf course and a Township restaurant. All of which TOL council and staff have spent our precious taxpayer dollars on.

Thank you for your time as you make decisions that balance out our needs for public safety and financial management.
Sincerely,
Gloria Stelting

Snows Die-Hard Part 2of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 3of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 4of4 ...