Daryl Kabatoff <doukhoborarchivescanada@gmail.com>: Mar 15 08:29AM -0700
If I Was Mayor of Saskatoon - Part One - By Daryl S. Kabatoff
March 14th 2020 AD 6:40 pm 27,608 words
Contents:
Aviation, Boating, TIG Welding
Banking, Wealth Management
Diamonds, Gold and Money
Female Fashion Trends
Largest Building in Saskatchewan
British, German and Russian History
High School Students, Hockey Players
Gun Laws, Native Governance
Restaurants and Fine Dining
Appeasement and Being Nice
Blinkin' Lights
Religion and Humor
If I was mayor of the City of Saskatoon I'd end of the money grab of the 30 km/hour school zones. The schools should post reduced speeds but with illuminated, blinkin' and more frequent signage. There should be no fine print on traffic speed signs, it is unreasonable for drivers to slow down to read fine print on street signs, then check the date and time of day to see if the information conveyed applies to them. There should be no reduced speeds in school zones when the students are inside the schools, so at the start of classes the speeds on the illuminated and blinkin' signs should return to 50 km/hour and cease blinkin'. The speed should only be reduced to 30 km/hour for 30 minutes before the start of classes, during the lunch hour, and for 30 minutes at the end of the school day.
An end to reduced speed limits near high schools, for the high school students should have learned how to cross streets before graduating from grade 8. High school students who impede traffic by recklessly crossing streets should face fines to help pay for the cost of the new brightly blinkin' 30 km/hour primary school zone signs (and to reduce home and business taxes). Instead of 30 km/hour zones for the high schools, give the high school students crosswalks where they may push a button and get traffic to either slow down or stop. People like blinkin' lights, give the high school students a few blinkin' lights that are activated by pushing a blinkin' button.
Reimburse the money of the ticketed drivers who were fined for exceeding the poorly marked 30 km/hour school zone limits. Drivers who were ticketed in these zones for speeds up to and including 55 km/hour should have their fines cancelled and money returned. This reimbursement should be funded by ticketing drivers who are in violation of traffic laws. Enforcing the fines for unattached trailers left on streets will go a long way in raising money to reimburse the drivers who were ticketed in the school-zone money grabs. The poorly made and poorly placed signage has resulted in not just traffic fines, but in increased insurance rates, together these increased costs resulted in the loss of mobility to some citizens - City Council should work to refund all these losses incurred by their negligence.
Increased the number of speed limit signs. Some 60 km/hour zones are so poorly posted that drivers have not seen the existing one or two signs and instead travel at slower or faster speeds. Signs indicating speed limits should be posted regularly along streets and freeways, on every second or third light pole or power pole. Several of the 50 km/hour zones can be increased to 60 km/hour, and several 60 km/hour zones should be increased to 70 or 80 km/hour. There is a small 90 km/hour section on Circle Drive that should be reduced to 70 or 80 km/hour.
Improved traffic flow by increasing speeds on Chief Mistawasis Bridge and on the roadways leading to and from this bridge. Improved traffic flow by connecting Clancy drive to 18th Street, passing beneath Circle Drive as this will alleviate the congestion on 22nd Street and Circle Drive. Improved traffic flow by widening sections of Circle Drive so that merging onto this freeway will become far less dangerous. Taylor Street should be moving four lanes of traffic at a consistent 50 km/hour, if a high school insists upon lower speeds during school hours, then get your blinkin' signs and your blinkin' lights to communicate the lower speeds in a clear and in an unambiguous manner. Put some study into alleviating congestion on Circle Drive between Avenue C and Millar Avenue. An overpass at Highway 12 and Marquis Drive is required but should be delayed due to mismanagement of city finances, and when it does finally get built it should have enough clearance to allow farmers to transport their grain bins.
Improved traffic flow by re-routing the Yellowhead Highway to either one or two miles west of Dalmeny Road, and connecting to the existing Gordie Howe Bridge via a new road located between Cedar Villa Estates and the CN rail yard. This would be hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than building a proposed bypass on the far east side of the city; furthermore having traffic totally bypassing the city will negatively affect local businesses and result in an additional hundreds of millions of dollars of lost revenue. If the provincial and federal governments desire to fund a bypass, then utilize Grasswoods Road and a new Grasswoods Bridge and have CPR locate their new bridge there as well. It would be in error to get Saskatoonians to pay for a traffic bypass for it would negatively impact businesses for decades to come, as was done in Regina.
Improve the traffic flow on Idylwyld Drive by widening the street to 6 or 8 lanes and perhaps give the buildings lining the street a European style similar to, matching or blending into the style of the Bessborough Hotel or the old Eaton's building on 3rd Avenue South. Beautifying the city will improve the lives of the merchants, the residents and the visitors. We should study the issue of similarly improving 20th Street West.
Reduced property taxes via the enforcement of existing traffic laws. Ticket drivers who hang any obstacles to vision, such as dream catchers, on their rear-view mirrors. Ticket the drivers who debadge their vehicles and obscure their license plates. Ticket the drivers who tint their front windows. Ticket drivers who fail to come to a complete stop at red lights and stop signs. Ticket the owners of the unattached trailers left on the streets.
Removal of red-light cameras, it is a cash grab that largely benefits those who own the cameras.
End to dedicated bike lanes, instead seek to improve road surfaces where bicycles are numerous. Most bicyclists in Saskatoon don't want bicycles and bike lanes, they instead want automobiles and their own houses.
The city should work to remove lead from pipes and also bury power lines to insure the city doesn't suffer power outages during ice storms.
An end to water fluoridation, the substance is toxic. Also a ban on toxic sales receipts, the chemicals cause mental and reproductive disorders, and cancers. The toxic sales receipts are a far greater problem than single use plastics, we should focus on the issue of the toxic sales receipts and eliminating that threat before even addressing the issue of plastics. The Federal government refuses to act to ban the toxic receipts, the provincial governments do not appear to be concerned, and so the responsibility to protect Saskatoon citizens falls upon the shoulders of the civic government. Allow people to continue to poison their children and themselves with toothpastes and deodorants, people should be free to choose.
Removal of the blue recycling bins… people may still recycle their tin cans, plastics and papers by dropping off their scrap metals, plastics and paper at designated locations. Garbage pick-up should be conducted in alleys should the neighborhoods have back alleys. Individual homeowners will pay less for garbage pick-up each week if they don't set their numbered bins out each week. The city should assist some people to obtain rotating composters so we all may take advantage of the leaves and grass clippings and improve the soil throughout the city.
Any future arena and velodrome should be located near the downtown core, in the central industrial area (the city yard site) near the existing sports and recreational facility of Harry Bailey Pool. I support the building of a single velodrome before the building of a second arena, and am unwilling to spend taxpayer's money for either venue.
Trains should not be transporting dangerous goods through the center of the city. The city yard site should be used for future world-class arenas, swimming pools, gymnasiums, a velodrome and a stadium. Either remove the tracks to provide more room for the sports facilities or repurpose the tracks to transport people to and from these sports venues to distant parking lots. We should not be spending many hundreds of millions of dollars for a dangerous goods traffic bypass without first eliminating the transport by trains of dangerous goods through the center of the city. Canadian Pacific Railways should be required to post a $3 billion performance bond to cover future damages should they continue to transport dangerous goods through the center of the city. CPR needs to begin building a train bridge to cross the river elsewhere, now. Canadian National Railway also transports dangerous goods through the city, they too should be required to post a $3 billion performance bond.
Land south of 19th Street West between Avenues B and C and the freeway, and also land south of 20th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue should be utilized for city residents to develop metal working skills and build small projects, with the immediate goal of becoming skilled enough with TIG welding and aluminum fabrication so that they may build their own small aluminum landing craft, small speed boat or paddle-wheeler. This is land closest to the poorest of the poor, the site is ideal for giving hope to people that have given up hope, and has river access for launching their finished boats. The higher quality TIG welders that have pulse capability smoke less than most every other welding technology, these welders, grinders, and other equipment that produces smoke, should all be used in conjunction with smoke extractors as the smoke generated from grinders is as harmful as the smoke generated from the welders. These pulse TIG welders utilize very small amounts of power when used to weld thinner materials, lowering the overall costs of the program and lowering the cost to the participants as they learn how to use the equipment. Those who participate should be provided with secure lockers so they may store their own personal welding supplies and small projects, such as their own tungsten anodes, filler wire, cutting and grinding wheels, masks, gloves and other welding supplies. As devices used for sharpening tungsten anodes are easily contaminated, they should obtain their own anode sharpening devices. The tungsten anodes are held by TIG torches that can be contaminated and broken, people should purchase a TIG torch that feels comfortable and fits their hands and needs. As breathing masks get coated with germs and become moldy, participants should obtain and care for their own should they have desire for one, and they should consider building themselves powered air respirators, perhaps by using the parts from a battery powered drill. Participants should pay daily for the electricity and argon gas they consume, and of course will be required to pay for any metal they require for their chosen projects. After the students demonstrate proficiency with AC pulse TIG aluminum welding (by completing small projects such as a fuel tank for their car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle, landing craft or plane), then they would be eligible for a secure space were they may over time assemble their own small aluminum boat or plane. There should be no woodworking, gluing nor painting conducted in the facility as efforts must be made to maintain air quality and reduce explosion hazards. There should be no MIG or other welders in the facility in order to force the students to become proficient with the TIG welders. After the participant demonstrates his or her ability to TIG weld, they will set their sights to manufacturing components for their boat or airplane or for their trailer.
The aviation department should have priority over and total oversight of the boat building department and should assume responsibility to maintain security of all people's projects, and not allow unauthorized access that jeopardizes the integrity of the projects. The aviation department requires people who are skilled in TIG welding and will not waste resources on purchasing nor on training people to operate MIG welders. The MIG welders would be certain to lessen the build time of the boats, but the issue is not to reduce build time of the boats but to teach people to become better TIG welders so they may attempt to build airplanes. Don't turn people away when they arrive to the facility, provide the person with a chair in a classroom and show them instructional videos rather than application forms questioning their eligibility to participate. I envision a multistory building that would perhaps be the largest building in the province, and if the facility is not large enough to allow people secure space for building their boats and airplanes, then additional facilities would be made available. There would be coffee shops, and ample walkways that would allow visitors to view the projects from behind glass, perhaps we can integrate pedestrian viewing tubes into the facility similar to the tube conveyors at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. We can use assorted city facilities to teach people to pilot both boats and planes. Allowing people to innovate and create will likely reduce drug use, violence, suicide and sodomy, and save tax money over the long term.
The city should anticipate future provincial and federal governments that encourages innovation and allow people to fly aircraft of their own designs and with minimal or no red tape and interference. Present laws prohibit the homebuilt aircraft from carrying adequate amounts of fuel and prevent the use of multiple engines, both of which adds great measures of safety. Laws prevent people from experimenting with variable swept wing designs, which also increase safety by reducing stall speeds when required. The city should make land available on the eastern and south-western outskirts for landing and parking these homebuilt creations. The city should not wait for future provincial and federal governments to encourage innovation and consider providing space and encouragement for unemployed and underemployed city residents to build their own aircraft now. People should start building their aviation creations now, knowing that future provincial governments will not hamper their ability to innovate, create and fly their own creations but will encourage and help enable them instead. It is a combination of 1) government restrictions, 2) government red-tape and 3) high insurance costs that hamper and even curtail people from innovating, building and flying their own aviation creations, the city of Saskatoon requires new provincial and federal governments to assist us to overcome these hurdles, but we should do our best without their immediate assistance.
The provincial government should be allowing people to "freely" innovate and build and fly their own aviation creations. The City of Saskatoon should similarly be free to partake in this relaxing of aviation regulations and provide space for the construction of approved designs of aircraft inside city-owned properties. It has been done elsewhere and can be done here: groups of people build copies of the same aircraft, when the airplanes are completed then the builders draw lots for them. Or these planes may be "completed" without the engines and avionics, after distributing the aircraft (via drawing lots), then the new owner will have the option of which engine and avionics to install into his or her plane. We should be allowing groups of people to manufacture multiple copies |
