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Given the bottlenecks created by traffic congestion on the Burlington Skyway in particular, it really doesn‘t make a lot of sense to further inhibit the flow of trafâ€" fic in the most heavilyâ€"used road corridor in the province. The government keeps changing the date when the 403 highway extension through Burlington will be hooked up to hwy 5, the ministry is finally widening the QEW in sections from hwy 20 in Hamilton through Stoney Creek to improve traffic flow. Given these initiatives, we wonder why they‘d even consider undoing some of their good work by imposing road tolls. And road tolls are just another form of taxation. For the oneâ€"time user, the fee could be tolerated but for commuters and commercial operâ€" ations, the added expense is not needed. But it seems the provincial New Democratic Party government is undaunted by these concerns. The Ministry of Transportation has some ideas for revenue production and the keystone for that is the possibility of reâ€"instituting road and bridee tolls. But over time the province said it was as expensive to operate the booths than to remove them. Along with that consideration, the rising population of people and the proportional increase in number of vehicles, meant lineups at these barriâ€" ers, lineups that were often the scenes of traffic accidents as motorists tried to slow down while approaching the tolls. The problems were further exacerbated by the number of large transport trucks using the bridges. In rain and snow conditions, the manoeuvre is particularly dicey. It used to be that way in southern Ontario as well. When the Burlington Skyway Bridge was built, the provincial government of the day set up a series of toll booths to collect money so some of the construction and maintenance fees could be recouped. At first there were manned booths and then they were replaced with automated coin chutes and it was heaven help those who didn‘t have the corâ€" rect chanee. first roads were constructed, there was probably someone appointed to colâ€" lect tolls to pay for the road, not to mention the massive armies of the day. New York State still has some Thruway tolls and other fees are collected for passing over bridges or through tunnels. The concept of paying tolls for using highways is nothing new. When the Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Ian Oliver Publisher Why is a woman not likely to be a CEO sooner? Fortune 500 CEOs say: Answer It‘s a matter of time 12% Current CEO will be in position f Wl 9% Women aren‘t aggressive enough to make it to the t 8% It‘s a matter of numbers (more m _13 6% There aren‘t engu industries, i.e., in maleâ€"dominated ing, manufacturing 29% They lack longâ€" They I adâ€"enough experience Wrong road 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 31% The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 m JA Oakv le, 'lslbznnot the Msmvlzrghmnfim Publishing of s newspapers ludes: oo o ons ies Achn Free Prsss. Khaslon This Week, Lhdsax‘m Wed( Markham Economist and Sun, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Mi Canadian Chmon Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, ile Beaver, Oriia Todan Oshawa/Whithy This Week, Peterbovww This Week, Richmond HilÂ¥ThomhilWVaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected copy ht. A reproduction in whole or in part of this material is stricly for consent of the publisher. Percent Poor driving habits make motorist‘s life miserable What we currently see all too often is the car that speeds up to close in a little gap in front of them only to apply the brakes soon after. It is like rushing to a red light. The thousands of cars ahead of us are just not going to go away. Dear Sir: I would like to write this letter to thank the kind stranger who came into the pediatrics floor on December 24th and presented her Christmas bonus â€" which was a beautiful floral arrangement â€" as a donation to a sick child. Dear Sir: I have heard it said by experienced drivers that the traffic on the Toronto highways is among the worst in North America. Rush hour traffic would flow much more smoothly if all motorists used less acceleration and, consequently, less braking. The kind and thoughtful nurses on the pediatrics floor felt that my daughter, Genevieve, was well deserving of this Christmas gift. She had been hospiâ€" talized with an unknown virus and was pretty sick for several days during the Christmas holidays. After having left her for a short time and returnâ€" ing to find the arrangement in her room (as I was not aware whether we could send flowers as she was in Dear Sir: Congratulations to the Oakville Hydro _ Electric Commission for freezing memâ€" ber remuneration. This is not the first thing they have done right. In 1986, a Stipend It was a bad time for all of us. However, when she awakened and saw this beautiful floral arrangeâ€" ment, it certainly cheered her up for a while. Town Council should follow Oakville Hydro‘s lead Kind gesture on Christmas Eve The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Review Committee of nonâ€" members was set up by the Commission to make recomâ€" mendations...and it did. Meanwhile the regional council members forge ahead with incresesâ€"unwilline to hear isolation), I asked her who gave them to her and she replied, "I don‘t know. When I opened my eyes I saw. them and they were beautiful." Thank you kind lady â€" whomever you are â€" for making Christmas Eve a cheery time for a sick 12â€"yearâ€"old girl. Brenda Johnston Dear Sir: Throughout the 1992 holiday season, I happened to browse in some of the malls around the Oakville area. All ‘of the malls I visited had some sort of ‘Santa‘s House‘, where Santa and his helpers took photos and gave out candy canes. After seeing many of these "helpers", I had to ask myself, when did Santa Claus become such a dirty old man? It would be better for people‘s nerves and a more efficient use of resources if traffic slowly rolled along with a minimum of braking rather than continually stopped and started, like a couch. If we all accelerated just a bit less and used less brake pedal, traffic would flow noticeably smoother. (This strategy assumes that the idle speeds of our cars are properly set.) Santa a dirty old man? The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 384 Letters to the Editor, the public and unable to set an example of restraint for employees. Let‘s hope the local town council can do better. .. _ Sheila Biggers Doug Warwick John Graham