Letters to the province, December 28, 2021: The effort to open Coquihalla was amazing

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Coquihalla and Trans Mountain Pipeline are proven essential structures for BC and other users. They have received a lot of negative press from both the current NDP government and various environmental groups in the past. Only when they were forced to close by nature did we learn the hard way how essential these two infrastructure projects really are.

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When gas prices skyrocketed and we were limited to just 30 liters of gas per fill, it was eye-opening. Emergency fuel had to be shipped by barge or rail.

It is not mentioned that the Coquihalla Highway did not even exist before the late Bill Bennett, BC Prime Minister, envisioned building this vital link with the Interior of this great province.

Of course, we’ve all seen the Highway Thru Hell TV series where large truck hauling tractor-trailers were involved in serious accidents during winter conditions and blocking all highway traffic, while tow trucks of equally massive size found creative ways to get there. the traffic is moving again.

Let’s give credit where it is due. Time hurts everything heals, as the reverse saying goes.

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Fred Perry, Maple Ridge

Why not try a different COVID approach?

Here we go again with the policy of commands and restrictions. It wasn’t very effective before, so why not try a different approach?

Health officials already admit that this Omicron variant is so transmissible that we’ll all get it anyway. How about treatments instead of blockages?

Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid has been shown in trials to be 89% effective in preventing serious illness and death. It is taken in pill form, so it will suit those who refuse to take the jab. It was recently approved in the US Florida has been using monoclonal antibodies for most of the year. There are many other approved treatments in the US.

One from AstraZeneca called Evusheld has a 70 percent success rate in preventing hospitalizations and deaths. It is a prophylaxis. That one still awaits approval.

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We can’t beat this Omicron by closing restaurants and bars. Let’s fight it with treatments.

Dick Draper, Surrey

Public transportation options don’t work for everyone

TransLink is giving senior citizens proverbial lumps of coal this holiday season with their billboards informing passengers of the removal of more and more bus stops.

This causes passengers, many like me who require poles or poles, to carry our purchases long blocks further and far too often on quite steep slopes. I already walk 10 blocks to get to number 99 on Broadway and 13 blocks to catch a bus to an appointment in Kerrisdale.

Options? Well yeah, I could walk a shorter distance and take three different crowded, airless buses to get to my destination, and another three to get back home. I do not think so.

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My Christmas shopping this year involved searching for a used gasoline car. After two years without one, I find that alternatives to driving are not practical for all seniors. I no longer have the physical stamina, in this small but mountainous city, to walk to a store, load purchases in my backpack or cart, and walk long distances home.

Thanks, TransLink, and a happy new year too.

Gerri McKee, Vancouver

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