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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, M ar ch 1 7, 2 01 6 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a With time change comes road hazards Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Neil Oliver General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca, 905-234-1011) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca, 905-234-1012) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com, 905-234-1020) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca, 905-234-1019) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca, 905-234-1016) Advertising Sales Jenny Hawkins (jhawkins@theifp.ca, 905-234-1014) Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@theifp.ca, 905-234-1013) Rachael Scutt (rscutt@theifp.ca, 905-234-1015) Kelli Kosonic (kkosonic@theifp.ca, 905-234-1018) Classified Call Centre 1-800-263-6480, Fax 1-866-299-1499 classifieds@metroland.com Accounting: 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca, 905-234-1021) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/photographer (emaher@theifp.ca, 905-234-1023) Kathryn Boyle: Staff writer/photographer (kboyle@theifp.ca, 905-234 -1022) Composing Shelli Harrison (sharrison@theifp.ca 905-234-1017) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Just before the daylight saving time change last week, there was a remind- er to set the clocks forward one hour. But during this time of year, there should be another equally, if not more, important reminder for driv- ers-- watch out for pedestrians. The extra hour of sunlight, and the coinciding warmer temperatures out- side, are sure to result in more people out and about enjoying everything the town has to offer. Residents will be populating patios and parks again as the spring-like weather entices them out of their win- ter slumber. One traffic fatality is too many. Road safety is a shared responsibility and all road users have an important role to play. So for pedestrians, be alert and get rid of any distractions-- like listening to music or a podcast on the cell- phone-- when crossing the road. The same goes for drivers with dis- tracted driving still a major issue. If the fines set for driving and tex- ting aren't enough of a deterrent, take a look again at the sobering statistics of traffic fatalities. And a reminder for drivers-- as of this year, motorists must yield the entire road to pedestrians when approaching crosswalks and school crossings, and wait until pedestrians have completely crossed the road. Both pedestrians and drivers will do well to slow down, and with the imminent arrival of spring, just breathe in the fresh air and relax. OPINION The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical orga- nization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Re: Editorial, We will Survive, Feb. 11, page 6. As various newspaper companies begin to close down, many people are starting to wonder whether the larger, and more successful newspapers will stay alive as well. The rising development of technolo- gy would have an impact in the sales of paper copy newspapers, and there are various ways to go about this problem in order to prevent future newspapers from being killed off, such as going on- line only to prevent a loss in sales. Erika Winkler, Halton Hills Re: Water rates, Letters to the Editor, March 3, page 6. In regards to John Quinn's letter in The IFP on March 3. I did check my water bill and determined that for our home, which has two self-contained apartments, five adult residents, and a swimming pool, our annual water bill is about $2,100 per year. This is much higher than Mr. Quinn's water bill for two people at his home. Mr. Quinn compared his average annual bill to that of Flint, Michigan, in my view a very odd choice. In 2014 in a cost saving measure, the City of Flint stopped getting its wa- ter from Detroit and Lake Huron and began drawing its water from the Flint River. Either due to incompetence or willful blindness, proper testing and filtering was not done. Residents com- plained that the water tasted bad, had a strange odour and came out of the tap brown in colour. Authorities insisted that the water was fine and the sediment in the water was not harmful. It turned out the water from the Flint River was more corrosive than from Lake Huron and without the proper fil- ter was corroding the water pipes. This released lead that has been used in the welding process in the pipes that in many cases were over 75 years old. In July of 2015, the Environmental Pro- tection Agency found that Flint water con- tained two and half times the legal limit for lead and that testing of children revealed that they had lead levels in excess of permit- ted safe levels. Flint residents were told not to drink or cook with the water from their taps and the Governor of Michigan declared a State of Emergency. Authorities are not sure how to restore the system, which may require the replace- ment of the water system costing millions of dollars. These costs will be borne by taxpayers throughout the state and country. Current- ly, residents are being supplied with bottled water. Halton Region has perhaps the safest water treatment and delivery systems in North America. You get what your pay for. Mr. Quinn pays just over $15 per week for high quality safe drinking water and waste water disposal-- in my view an exceptional value when compared to Flint, Michigan. Doug Penrice, Halton Hills News will soon all be online You can't put a price on water