The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OPINION & LETTERSTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:The Oakville BeaverTHE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR:Canadian Circulation467 Speers Rd.,Audit Board Member Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 Recognized for Excellence by(905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571ClassiOntario CommunityCanadian Communityfied Advertising: 632-4440 Newspapers AssociationNewspapers AssociationCirculation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays,ATHENASuburban NewspapersAward5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekendsof AmericaEditorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. NEIL OLIVERVice President and Group ROD JERREDManaging EditorMARK DILLSDirector of ProductionUnauthorized use is prohibited.Publisher of Metroland WestDANIEL BAIRDAdvertising DirectorMANUEL GARCIAProduction ManagerThe Oakville Beaver is a division ofDAVID HARVEYRegional General ManagerRIZIERO VERTOLLIPhotography DirectorCHARLENE HALLDirector of DistributionJILL DAVISEditor in ChiefSANDY PAREBusiness ManagerSARAH MCSWEENEYCirc. ManagerLetter to the editorStrong stance neededHelp stop theto block highwayMid-Pen Hwy.Traffic gridlock has been a problem in the Re: Region says escarpment off-GTA for decades and only promises to get worse limits to Mid-Pen Hwy., Oakville with the anticipation of three million new resi-Beaver, May 27.dents in the coming decades.I was glad to finally see some Thats why the Province is taking steps now coverage about the threat of the to implement a future transportation strategy, Niagara-GTA (formerly the Mid including the proposed Mid-Pen highway.Pen) Highway in theOakville Wednesday, the Beaver.Like a runawayRegions planning and This issue is one of those rare freight train, thepublic works commit-moments when our regional gov-Province is hard to ernment, municipal government in tee approved a staff the City of Burlington and a coali-stop when it setsreport that takes a tion of 12 community groups from strong stance against its sights on Hamilton, Niagara, Burlington, the highway.something.Oakville and Milton are all working The report states together to oppose the construction while accommodating of a new 400 series highway across new growth in the area is necessary, staff will the Niagara escarpment. not support alternatives that would establish a On the other side of the fight are new facility crossing the Niagara Escarpment.our provincial politicians and the The report is expected to go before regional Ministry of Transportation of council this week.Ontario (MTO). With the protection of our Niagara So far the Town of Oakville has been silent on the issue, despite the Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve in mind, fact that our community stands to the Region is right to take such a stance.lose recreational spaces, air quality, However, like a runaway freight train, the water quality and other benefits Province is hard to stop when it sets its sights from a highway that could dump on something.The Oakville Beaverwelcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity,into Highway 5 on the border of Letters The people of Ontario would be better served length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain Oakville. the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to if the Ministry of Transportation would concen-to the These diverse groups are work-The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to trate more on funding alternative methods of ing together because there are editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaverreserves the right to refuse to publish a letter.editortransportation and reducing the need for more many flaws in the plan. At the root, roads.is the realization that the highway Building another highway, especially through building approach weve used for Ice cream truck isn't music to her earsthe environmentally sensitive Niagara the past 75 years is going to come at Re:Long weekend spoiled by noise,The ice cream truck arrived in the areatoo great a cost in the future. Escarpment is not a viable solution to solving Oakville Beaver,May 25.and sat for more than an hour playing itsMany things need to change to southern Ontario's gridlock problem.I am in total agreement with A. Carlylerelentless and monotonous sound (it can'tintegrate the MTOs transportation With rising gasoline prices, many motorists about noise in the neighbourhood.even be called music)plan to a plan that supports livable will be looking for a cheaper, more convenient I live near two schools, which are under-Needless to say, I gave up and retreated tocommunities. method of transportation.standably a source of noise. However, a fewthe quiet of my home. Is there a bylawWe need to fully fund Metrolinx, Why not provide them one though an effi-days ago during the week when the weatheragainst this? I can't stand the thought of hav-the regional transit program. We turned nice, I looked forward to having aing to put up with this all summer long.cient and affordable regional transit system as need to use realistic population quiet "read" in my backyard. V. Blackwell, Oakvilleproposed by Metrolinx?growth and oil price estimates. We Hopefully, the Province listens to local con-need to consider agriculture as the cerns and realizes that paving over more land economic industry it is, and not Swiss Chalet delivered church supper in a pinchfor another highway is not a long-term solu-classify it as a community benefit. When Trafalgar Presbyterian Church'sThe 150 people waiting for dinner weretion.We need to consider rail alterna-annual Lobster Dinner found itself withoutvery pleased. The church sincerely thankstives for freight that are being over-The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., lobsters at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, we phonedKumar, Luis and the staff at the restaurantSuite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, looked by the MTO, because rail is a the Swiss Chalet at Upper Middle and Eighthfor their outstanding service.in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, federal responsibility and the two together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the Line. At 6:15 p.m., we had 50 chickens at theRhodes Arnold,advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize church cut and ready to serve.Trafalgar Presbyterian Churchadvertisements or decline.See Province page 7www.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 1, 2011 6