Following an open objection from different Manitoba drivers, and in addition the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA), the commonplace government has chosen not to close the Pine Grove Rest Area.
Reacting to Truck West May 29, the Manitoba government said it was surveying the past NDP government’s intend to close 12 of 17 rest zones over the area, and Pine Grove was one of two outstanding that had not yet been shut. “It will stay open for voyagers, and our legislature is focused on re-assessing this NDP design,” the administration expressed. “Manitoba Infrastructure is at present during the time spent checking on the past government’s choice to close this office.”
As the solitary open rest region amongst Winnipeg and the Ontario outskirt, Terry Shaw, official chief of the MTA, said it is a key area for a few affiliation individuals. “This is the Trans-Canada Highway,” said Shaw. “This isn’t some cast off thing.”
Shaw said some MTA individuals instruct their new drivers to use Pine Grove as a feature of their hours-of-benefit administration design, making it a fundamental rest territory for driver consistence. However, Pine Grove is only one rest stop, and for a considerable length of time the MTA and other trucking affiliations have been upholding for progressively – an issue that will be underscored once ELDs are required in Canada. “On the off chance that this rest stop never at any point got specified,” said Shaw, “there still aren’t sufficient rest stops.”
Shaw indicated an American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) examine done in the U.S. as proof that Canada is in urgent need of extra rest stops for business vehicles.
“American foundation, it’s very much recorded and understood, is superior to Canadian framework, and the Top 4 issue on the Top 10 issues of trucking organizations list was truck stopping,” he stated, including that hours-of-administration and driver wellbeing and health were not as high on the rundown as rest territories.
The MTA displayed the ATRI answer to Manitoba’s pastor of foundation as evidence there is a requirement for more rest stops.
“What actions are you taking to address the issues of the street open and the common economy, for example, the trucking business?” addressed Shaw.
Shaw had additionally gotten notification from different media outlets that the administration was checking on a few rest regions in the territory, not simply Pine Grove, and made a demand to take a seat with the legislature and audit which regions would conceivably be affected.
With another traditionalist government driving the territory in the course of the most recent two years, Shaw comprehends there will be an alternate approach contrasted with the NDP.“They are a significantly different government than the one we saw…we had 17 years of NDP now we have two years of conservative, so we know they are focused on reducing costs and financial tightness,” said Shaw. “So we didn’t want to bombard them with our infrastructure plan, we wanted to see what theirs was and critique and provide input.”
The MTA met with Manitoba Infrastructure late in 2017 to discuss what its long-term funding plan would be moving forward for infrastructure in the province. Shaw said the MTA had ideas that were not provided at that time, as the association was waiting for the release of the plan, which was due to be unveiled this spring, but as of the end of May, had not been announced.
Communication between the new provincial government and the MTA has been a concern for Shaw.
“The lack of communication consultation from the department (of infrastructure) is something we’ve seen in the past,” said Shaw, recognizing that he does not believe the absence of communication on the Pine Grove Rest Area was by design, but rather an oversight.
Shaw said he heard of the potential closure of Pine Grove through the media and other concerned parties, not from the government itself.
Though there are alternative places to stop in the area around Pine Grove, they are smaller, causing issues for trucks, not open 24 hours, and privately owned, which means motorists must make a purchase to use the facilities.
“What seems like a reasonable alternative to (the government),” Shaw said, “may not necessarily be considered to be a reasonable alternative by the trucking industry.”
