source: Farm and Food Report
No one knows the volume of traffic that roads around Cudworth sustain better than Louis Kolla, Reeve of the R.M. of Hoodoo and a member of the North Central Area Transportation Planning Committee (NCATPC).
“With us being located more in the north, logging activities have a real impact on our road surfaces,” Kolla says. “Our area extends westward as well, so the Lloydminster traffic brings wear and tear on our road network there also.”
Started in 1995, Saskatchewan’s network of Area Transportation Planning Committees was established to ensure road upgrades and other transportation decisions made by Saskatchewan Highways were based on sound information.
Allan Carpentier is a Senior Transportation Planner with Saskatchewan Highways. He provides technical expertise for the Transportation Planning Committees in the southern third of the province.
“Our goal is to make sure those who use the highways and road networks have a means to provide us with some input on their priorities,” says Carpentier. “It is more of a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. Instead of having decisions being made out of Regina, the whole idea is to consult locally on the issues and solutions to transportation challenges.”
One of the most important issues Saskatchewan road authorities are facing today is the rapidly changing grain handling network. Grain elevator consolidation and rail line abandonment are placing an increased burden on our roads in an era of government restraint and debt reduction. It is what motivated this investment in a strategic partnership.
“The Committees consult with Health Boards, School Boards, Regional Economic Development Authorities,” said Carpentier. “They deal also with ferries, airports, short line railways, and with how economic development, tourism, access to schools and hospitals are affected by the transportation network.”
Transportation plans are developed and submitted to the provincial government, which analyses them and goes back to the ATPCs to validate their findings.
“We have a solid discussion to establish where the strategic corridors are, as an example, for grain routes, economic development, and intensive livestock operations,” explains Carpentier.
“What happens is in the municipal system, there is a set amount of dollars for applications brought in under the federal Prairie Grain Roads Management Committee to assess and see if there is a real need for these roads. One of the key roles of these Area Transportation Planning Committees is that when these applications are submitted, the federal committee approaches the ATPCs and asks them if they are necessary, strategic routes. Is there any other information that can be provided to make this a good application? The ATPC provides their input and it just enhances the opportunities for these municipalities to get these roads upgraded or clay-capped.”
Louis Kolla has been a member of his Area Committee for two and a half years only, and already he sees an impact.
“This year, through the Federal Government, we got a three-mile long road clay-capped in our region through an application that had been submitted,” he says. “We know which roads are needed. Being on a committee like this enables us to share our knowledge with decision-makers. It is a win/win situation.”
For more information on Area Transportation Planning Committees, click here.
For more information, contact:
Allan Carpentier
Senior Transportation Planner
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation
(306) 787-6559
No one knows the volume of traffic that roads around Cudworth sustain better than Louis Kolla, Reeve of the R.M. of Hoodoo and a member of the North Central Area Transportation Planning Committee (NCATPC).
“With us being located more in the north, logging activities have a real impact on our road surfaces,” Kolla says. “Our area extends westward as well, so the Lloydminster traffic brings wear and tear on our road network there also.”
Started in 1995, Saskatchewan’s network of Area Transportation Planning Committees was established to ensure road upgrades and other transportation decisions made by Saskatchewan Highways were based on sound information.
Allan Carpentier is a Senior Transportation Planner with Saskatchewan Highways. He provides technical expertise for the Transportation Planning Committees in the southern third of the province.
“Our goal is to make sure those who use the highways and road networks have a means to provide us with some input on their priorities,” says Carpentier. “It is more of a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. Instead of having decisions being made out of Regina, the whole idea is to consult locally on the issues and solutions to transportation challenges.”
One of the most important issues Saskatchewan road authorities are facing today is the rapidly changing grain handling network. Grain elevator consolidation and rail line abandonment are placing an increased burden on our roads in an era of government restraint and debt reduction. It is what motivated this investment in a strategic partnership.
“The Committees consult with Health Boards, School Boards, Regional Economic Development Authorities,” said Carpentier. “They deal also with ferries, airports, short line railways, and with how economic development, tourism, access to schools and hospitals are affected by the transportation network.”
Transportation plans are developed and submitted to the provincial government, which analyses them and goes back to the ATPCs to validate their findings.
“We have a solid discussion to establish where the strategic corridors are, as an example, for grain routes, economic development, and intensive livestock operations,” explains Carpentier.
“What happens is in the municipal system, there is a set amount of dollars for applications brought in under the federal Prairie Grain Roads Management Committee to assess and see if there is a real need for these roads. One of the key roles of these Area Transportation Planning Committees is that when these applications are submitted, the federal committee approaches the ATPCs and asks them if they are necessary, strategic routes. Is there any other information that can be provided to make this a good application? The ATPC provides their input and it just enhances the opportunities for these municipalities to get these roads upgraded or clay-capped.”
Louis Kolla has been a member of his Area Committee for two and a half years only, and already he sees an impact.
“This year, through the Federal Government, we got a three-mile long road clay-capped in our region through an application that had been submitted,” he says. “We know which roads are needed. Being on a committee like this enables us to share our knowledge with decision-makers. It is a win/win situation.”
For more information on Area Transportation Planning Committees, click here.
For more information, contact:
Allan Carpentier
Senior Transportation Planner
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation
(306) 787-6559
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