MLA wants Arrow Mountain Bypass
High Speed Internet a Priority for Evans
By Lorne Eckersley
Advance Staff
If the Town of Creston is looking for an ally in its quest to get the Arrow Mountain bypass constructed, it has one in Nelson-Creston MLA Corky Evans.
“I think it should happen. I've always thought it should happen,” Evans said when he visited Creston last week.
Evans, a one-time NDP Minister of Transportation, didn't get the bypass built when he was in the government, but promises to work on it now, especially after an “opinion referendum” showed Creston residents in support of the proposal.
“I'm going to promote it,” he said.
Evans added that it was a “sign of wisdom” when the necessary land was purchased several decades ago.
“But it was the idea of others then — Creston didn't want it (the bypass),” he said.
The next step, Evans said, should be to clear the bypass right-of-way in order to create a fire safety break between the forested Arrow Mountain and the town.
“That would give people a visual idea of what a bypass will look like,” he said.
Evans was in town to attend a series of meetings before returning to the sittings in the legislature next week. He got an earful from local officials who are unhappy with the quality of highway maintenance and promised to arrange a meeting with the responsible parties.
Also a priority, he said, is high-speed Internet service to rural communities. At a recent meeting in Castlegar on the subject, “we had the best meeting I've ever attended.”
The solution, he said, is for communities to pool their resources, using available grants of up to $20,000 to “extend broadband service from existing ones in hospitals or schools.”
Using redundant TV towers is likely the best solution — “Rules make using Telus and hydro towers difficult,” he explained.
“In the 1990s we made a monumental error when we didn't make those the 'peoples' wires'” he said. “That debate was lost because the government didn't want to get into a fight with corporate entities.”
He added, “I think broadband is the secret to the next iteration of investment, including the possibility of our children investing in our own communities”
When asked about the atmosphere in the provincial legislature, Evans said the difference was marked since his return.
“It really is different — we've got away from the hazing culture. In the past, everyone who went to the legislature was emotionally destroyed,” he observed. “I didn't think Carole (James, NDP leader) could do it, but she did,” crediting James for the more genial, business-first ethic in the house.
He said the Campbell government has introduced fixed days of legislative sittings and “reduced the element of surprise, which also has improved productivity and civility.”
“There is way less interjection now, and I'm usually proud to have school¬children watching from the galleries.”
The legislature resumes sitting on Tuesday.
