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economist suntribune thursday may 2 2002 stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly director of advertising debra welter classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacey allen business manager robert lazurko editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution manager barry black electronic communications manager john futhey office manager vivian oneil editorial banning cellphones while driving just another intrusion newfoundland is the first province in canada ready to take the leap and ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving new york state and 14 local jurisdictions in the united states as well as 30 other countries worldwide have already succumbed to this seemingly easy solution to making roads safer several automotive and health organiza tions including the canadian medical association are calling on the other provinces to introduce similar laws thankfully ontario is playing coy on this issue looking before it leaps a durham mpp lost his bid last year to amend the highway traffic act to ban drivers from using cellphones laptops and fax machines with the province promising to study the matter further on face value its a straightforward theory drivers using cellphones are distracted drivers and hence are more prone to get involved in accidents so ban cellphones while driving but it isnt that simple according to the canada safety council there just isnt enough proof to pinpoint cell phones as making roadways more dangerous from 1993 to 2002 the council states the number of canadians using cellphones went from 18 million to 10 million however during that period traffic fatalities and injuries actual ly dropped 10 per cent no one is arguing using cellphones while driving isnt increasing the possibility of an accident occurring engaging in an intense conversation while driving on the cellphone or with a passenger is not a smart choice nor is eating shaving reading or putting on makeup where are the laws for that in fact according to an american automobile association study of 284000 acci dents caused by distraction 29 per cent were caused by distractions outside the car 11 per cent by adjusting the radio 3 per cent by adjusting climate controls and 15 per cent by cellphone use if a ban is required to prevent distractions would it not be more useful to outlaw garish roadside signs or scantily clad pedestrians better yet how about banning stupid peo ple from getting a drivers licence in the first place opinion for gops sake ed the americans cant hr you booing their national anthem e i mmmm letters to the editor avoid fence problem by banning homes backing on to roads re no more sitting on the fence april 23 it was with great interest i read your article on deteriorating fences on major roads in markham the source of this problem is very simple many municipalities allow developers to con struct subdivisions so the rear lots face major arterial roads the net impact of such development is you have barren roads gated or walled com munities and streets that do not support pub lic transit in addition as noted in your article there is a huge longterm liability in terms of repair and replacement of the fences if the fences are repaired by the individual homeowners then you end up with a hodge podge of fencing up and down major streets if the municipality gets involved then you end up spending thousands and thou sands of dollars year after year to repair and replace this fencing the solution is also simple the town of ajax has an official plan that prohibits rear lotting and requires window streets to be constructed adjacent to arterial roads this results in homes facing on to the main arterial road but having the driveway access on to a local road it eliminates the longterm liability of repairing and replacing many kilometres of fencing of course many developers oppose this type of development as it is more expensive to construct which is why two developers are seeking to reverse our rear lot policy steve parish mayor of ajax sticking massive hydro debt on ontario taxpayers is wrong re hydro deregulation seems to stick it to ontario taxpayers letter to the editor april 25 what a great country the ontario government runs its hydro company into millions of dollars of debt through callous abuse and indifference to the very public it was created to serve mike harris and his lads come along and see this thing is no longer working decide to sell it off and call it deregulation what happens to the debt guess what we the public get to participate once again check out your hydro bill this month and read about the new proxy tax legislated into being by the very people we voted into office to look after our best interest maybe its not all that bad my share was only 751 this month so it looks like well have this thing cleared up in no time oh by the way my company has fallen oh some hard times lately but its good to know i can count on the public to bail me out right herb hoover markham letters policy stouffville tvibune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write letters to the editor 9 heritage rd markham ont l3p 1m3 email letterseconsuncom stouffville tribune sewing the community since 1888 prsfin dde canadian circulations 1 audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement 1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year- 6955 thursdays only stouffville tribune published every thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barne advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east yortt mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independent acton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news misslssauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orillla today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthornhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 95 2942200 fax9052941538 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 2948244 distributioncconsuncom telephone 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom dave teetzel last few acres ofmoraine toughest to save if you supported the campaign to save the oak ridges moraine because you wanted to protect scarce greenspace you are proba bly quite happy your efforts resulted in one of canadas largest urban parks 1350 acres in northern richmond hill the people who are angry 4000 homes half the number developers originally proposed will still be built in the richmond hill stretch of the moraine are the ones fighting to save an ecosystem but that group was able to rally hun dreds of people last month to attend a richmond hill council meeting where once again nine local politicians were put on the spot to deal with a problem far beyond their resources councillors responded with a plan to use interest earned on the 143million sale of the towns hydro utility to buy up the remaining moraine land so there you have it the province has made 65 per cent of the moraine into a park and the town is going to buy the remaining land that could be devel oped the environmental lobby can declare victory and retire right hardly the hydro cash for moraine land offer comes with two conditions resi dents have to support it and other levels of government have to participate these are both reasonable condi tions if preserving the moraine is vital to water quality in newmarket aurora and all points down to toronto if its neces sary to protect provincially and nation ally significant wildlife why should one town foot the entire bill but what are the odds the other gov ernments will get on the bandwagon richmond hill will put up 25 million over five years if that amount is matched by york region which for the record did not sell a hydro utility last year was hit hard by downloading and growth and faces serious budget pressure once york region puts up its money that combined 50million municipal contribution must be matched by the feds and province which is on record as having already saved the moraine but were getting ahead of ourselves before governments start talking the people of richmond hill must have their say at a series of meetings on how the hydro proceeds should be spent these are to start in june and wrap up sometime in the fall problem is the provincial plan desig nates these lands for housing now what happens when a developer wants to start building the town can try saying hang on we want to buy the land off you but when the developers some of whom are quite frustrated and angry by now say show us the money or give us the permits its unlikely the money will be available t i i i i 4 i i