DRIC And School Buses

At our last DRIC CCG meeting, we heard from one of DRIC's experts telling us about their air monitoring program. It will last until some time in the new year I believe.

I guess it makes everyone feel better to know that this is being done. It can be said, with a straight face, that DRIC bowed to the community demands. Of course they are dealing with something irrelevant but it plays well in presentations made by DRIC to demonstrate community responsiveness. I must admit that I am not sure what the purpose of it really is from a community perspective other than "feel-good" or perhaps to give someone an argument why Governments should spend billions when it is not needed.

Diesel emissions will no longer be a problem. The end result due to community demands will actually be that tunnels and below grade roads will not be needed and at grade roads work just fine thank you. The reason, emissions will fall rapidly over the life of the new road. In other words, the community do-gooders just sealed their own doom and the air monitoring work being done can support a minimum case being proposed by DRIC as our solution. Ironic, isn't it!

That this is perfectly clear should be apparent when Minister Cansfield came to town. She said (unfortunately not reported by the Windsor Star):

• "We’ve heard your concerns that an increase in truck traffic will increase air pollution in Windsor and Essex County. Our air quality specialists are working with provincial and federal agencies to identify the air quality impact of the various options.
  
  Air monitors have been placed along the Huron Church/Highway 3 corridor – I visited the site this morning.
  
  This is an extraordinary step in response to what we’ve heard from the community.
  
  Air quality modelling is an essential part of the DRIC air quality assessment. Computerized models will allow us to make informed and reliable decisions about the air quality impact of the new crossing, plaza and access road.
  
  People in Windsor and Essex County should also know that new truck emissions standards come into effect in January 2007. A combination of new engines and lower-sulphur fuel will eventually cut emissions by more than 90 per cent.
  
  The average truck life is about five to seven years, according to the transport industry… that means by the year 2012 – 2014 trucks will have these new engines with reduced harmful emissions.
  
  The access road to the new crossing will continue to be consistent with the existing homes and businesses along Highway 3/Huron Church Road. That won’t change. Highway 3 is a provincial highway and has been for 75 years, the only difference is the trucks using this road will now be headed for the international border instead of city streets."

Since the trucks will have the reduced emissions by 2013, the year the new bridge is to be built, do you really think that billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent for DRTP's Green Solution just to make Mike Hurst happy or for a tunnel from Highway 401 to the Ambassador bridge? We know where the road is going since the Minister just told us and we know already what kind of road it will be. Why aren't we building it now and creating thousands of infrastructure jobs when we need them? Sandra better start working on that after the jobs she already produced for us.

Do the Tunneleers want to do something useful to address a real problem and stop dealing with the phony one created by the Eminence Grise for re-election purposes? Here is an excerpt from a Sierra Club report dealing with health risks to children:

• "Certain groups have an even higher risk of developing cancer as they are exposed to higher than average ambient air concentrations of DPM:
  
  Children riding on school buses are exposed to DPM levels that would lead to a lifetime excess cancer rate of up to one in 256 if they were exposed to this concentration of DPM over their entire lifetime. While this is an extreme example, it demonstrates the severity of the emissions that children are exposed to when travelling to and from school. This risk is above and beyond the cancer risk that everyday exposure to average ambient air DPM levels poses to children."

If someone wants to do something useful on diesel fuel emissions, here is a simple strategy. Spend the billions for a tunnel in Windsor to:

• "Protect children by retrofitting existing school buses and restricting future purchases to clean alternative-fuelled school buses"
• Retro-fit trucks now so that all of Ontario can have reduced diesel emissions!