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

6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Thursday, September 13, 2012 OPINION Lights out at Region Shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 21 a transport trailer, hauling a load, made a right-hand turn at the corner of Five Sideroad and Ninth Line and inadvertently brought down a pole, traffic lights and hydro lines. Tuesday night-- 22 days later-- work finally began and finished to replace the lights. For the past three weeks several wooden stop signs were posted at each corner, indicating the intersection was to be treated as a four-way stop. Monday to Friday, Ninth Line is one of the most travelled roads in Halton Hills. Hundreds of residents use the road on their way to work in Mississauga and other locales south. At the best of times-- particularly at rush hour-- it is busy. With no traffic light to expedite traffic, and four-way stops in place, it was a parking lot. Nearby construction work at Steeles Avenue/Trafalgar Road did not help traffic flow. Town officials, including Mayor Rick Bonnette, pleaded with Region staff to get this traffic light replaced. A guarantee from Region officials of a having the light replaced Sept. 5 at the latest, came and went. In an email to Bonnette, Maureen Van Ravens, manager of Transportation Planning and Road Operations Public Works for Halton Region, wrote Monday: "Stacey Electric is the contractor that is working on behalf of the Town of Oakville. Although I spoke to Stacey Electric directly, the Town of Oakville is ultimately responsible for their contractor." Should an Oakville firm look after a Halton Hills issue? If the problem had been left to a local crew, would it have been dealt with quicker? Region staff eventually contacted Halton Police to have an officer direct traffic to speed things up. It may not have been very cost-effective, but anything to improve the situation was welcome. There has long been the perception that Halton Hills is not given the same priority at the Region as Oakville, Burlington or Milton. This incident does nothing to disprove that belief. If a similar situation arose at a key intersection in another Halton municipality would it have taken three weeks to fix? We doubt it. If it really takes this long to replace a traffic light, the Region might want to revisit its policy when it comes to simple repair work. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Delrex bike lane half-hearted idea Dear editor, While I agree that implementing a bicycle lane on Delrex Boulevard to divert cycle traffic away from our busier streets was an excellent strategy, I can't help but feel that its function is somewhat hampered by the fact that it is acceptable for vehicles to park in said lane. Furthermore, its usefulness would have been greatly improved had there been a connection to the cycle/pedestrian path located a mere 400 metres southeast at Mountainview Road/Eden Place as this stretch is certainly one of the busiest and least bicycle-friendly roadways in Georgetown. With this connection, cyclists would be able to reach the majority of services in town safely and easily without resorting to sharing the sidewalk with pedestrians or getting in the way of busy commuter traffic. Due to the pre-existing width of Delrex and low cost of painting some lines, dare I suggest that installing this bicycle lane was a rather half-hearted attempt at winning favour with cyclists in what is a relatively bicycle un-friendly town? Rob Whiteman, Georgetown Ball tourney a hit Dear editor, August 10-12, despite significant rainfall, a dedicated group of parents and youth volunteers worked tirelessly outdoors to host the Minor Mosquito Central Ontario Baseball Association playoff tournament at Gellert Community Park. This letter is to acknowledge their dedication and to express sincere gratitude to each person who contributed to making the weekend such a success. Many out-of-town visitors commented on how welcome they felt and how well the tournament was run. As a result, we cast Georgetown in a positive light through our efforts. In addition, our organizing committee was overwhelmed by the response that we received from the Georgetown business community in sponsorship and donations. Thank you to each of the following local businesses who contributed significantly to our event: Boston Pizza, FreshCo, Georgetown Thai, Kelsey's, St. George's Pub, Superstore and Yong's Chinese Restaurant. The overall experience of this tournament gives strong evidence that Georgetown is a vibrant, caring, community in which to live. Thank you to everyone involved for your support. We couldn't have done it without you! Alexis Galvao, Minor Mosquito COBA Convenor 2012 UCHS says thanks Dear editor, The Upper Credit Humane Society raised more than $2,800 during its July Wishbone Campaign. Thank you to all the businesses, and the public who supported the Campaign. The monies raised will go towards repairing the flood damage to the Shelter's basement. We offer special thanks to our many Georgetown area hosts. Should your business, or you personally, be interested in participating in the 2013 Wishbone Campaign, please contact Laura at uppercreditevents@gmail.com. Thank you. Laura Boardman, Fundraising Chair, Upper Credit Humane Society WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) The local fall fairs are coming, starting this weekend. What's the best part of the fairs? · The displays (39%) · The food (28%) · The entertainment (17%) · The midway (16%) The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and 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.