I was pleased to receive a response from Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador (HNL) concerning my letter about the importance of speeding up the completion of the Trans Labrador Highway. From the letter it sounds like HNL has been expressing the same message for years. The reply sounds encouraging. Here it is:
Thank you for your email concerning the need for a speedy completion of the Trans Labrador Highway.
As you mentioned, the completion of the Trans Labrador Highway will open the region up to many more economic development opportunities, including those in tourism. HNL has worked hard for many years to highlight to government the need for improved transportation infrastructure in Labrador in order to grow the tourism industry and take confort that residents of our province, like you, believe the same thing.
Thanks again for your email and HNL will continue to advocate for improved transportation infrastructure in Labrador.
Sincerely,
Nancy Healey
Executive Director
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Letter to HNL on TLH
In my previous post below I outlined why it is important that the Trans Labrador Highway completion be sped up. I have sent a letter to Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador president, Nick McGrath, to urge them to encourage government(s) to give more priority to this crucial infrastructure. I've posted the letter here for anyone to read or copy if interested to send a message to HNL, Dept. of Tourism, your MHA or MP.
Dear Mr. McGrath,
The completion of the Trans Labrador Highway is a priority for the province, and it is for this reason that I write to you to urge that HNL advocate for a more expeditious finish to this momentous project. The sooner the TLH construction is completed, the better for all travelers, Labrador residents, and tourists. It would benefit residents' health needs by cutting travel time. It could also improve peoples' health because fresher produce will become more available. A paved TLH will help bring Labrador on par with Newfoundland.
A full hard top road system will open up more opportunities for economic development. For those with an entrepreneurial inclination an inviting paved TLH must be great news, and help in the business development mindset. For example, there could possibly be more service stations, convenience stores, restaurants, camp grounds, parks, hiking outposts, canoeing/kayaking businesses, fishing or hunting trips, outback expedition businesses, snowmobile rentals, flight rentals, skiing or golf resorts, cabin development, forestry and mining industries, and others. The easier it is to get to places like this, the more likely people will come, the more likely more people than at present will come, and perhaps more likely people will come more often.
It is frustrating to have to travel long distances on gravel roads, and to experience car problems like damaged windshields and tires. If tourists did not have to experience such problems, they would probably be happier campers, which leads me to the tourism aspect of the TLH.
There are beautiful places in the province that are never seen by most of the public because they were not advertised or publicized. There are many scenic places like Porcupine Strand, a 40 km stretch on Labrador's coast. With a fully completed TLH, organizations like HNL will be able to promote places in such a way as,
It would be much more enticing for people to want to see Labrador when there is a smooth, paved, and speedier road infrastructure.
Thank you for your time. I know many others feel the same about the importance of picking up the pace on completing the TLH. I hope the HNL does too and takes action to voice this message to government officials and those in positions of influence to really impact a swifter completion time.
Sincerely,
____________________
Dear Mr. McGrath,
The completion of the Trans Labrador Highway is a priority for the province, and it is for this reason that I write to you to urge that HNL advocate for a more expeditious finish to this momentous project. The sooner the TLH construction is completed, the better for all travelers, Labrador residents, and tourists. It would benefit residents' health needs by cutting travel time. It could also improve peoples' health because fresher produce will become more available. A paved TLH will help bring Labrador on par with Newfoundland.
A full hard top road system will open up more opportunities for economic development. For those with an entrepreneurial inclination an inviting paved TLH must be great news, and help in the business development mindset. For example, there could possibly be more service stations, convenience stores, restaurants, camp grounds, parks, hiking outposts, canoeing/kayaking businesses, fishing or hunting trips, outback expedition businesses, snowmobile rentals, flight rentals, skiing or golf resorts, cabin development, forestry and mining industries, and others. The easier it is to get to places like this, the more likely people will come, the more likely more people than at present will come, and perhaps more likely people will come more often.
It is frustrating to have to travel long distances on gravel roads, and to experience car problems like damaged windshields and tires. If tourists did not have to experience such problems, they would probably be happier campers, which leads me to the tourism aspect of the TLH.
There are beautiful places in the province that are never seen by most of the public because they were not advertised or publicized. There are many scenic places like Porcupine Strand, a 40 km stretch on Labrador's coast. With a fully completed TLH, organizations like HNL will be able to promote places in such a way as,
"Just a one hour drive from Goose Bay, Glacial valleys at Grand River and Grand Lake can be seen along the Trans Labrador Highway", instead of "A three or four hour drive from ..."
It would be much more enticing for people to want to see Labrador when there is a smooth, paved, and speedier road infrastructure.
Thank you for your time. I know many others feel the same about the importance of picking up the pace on completing the TLH. I hope the HNL does too and takes action to voice this message to government officials and those in positions of influence to really impact a swifter completion time.
Sincerely,
____________________
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Trans Labrador Highway Needs Speed Increase
The sooner the TLH construction is complete, the better for all travellers, Labrador residents, and tourists. The highway construction is a massive project but it is an infrastructure, economic and tourism priority. Labrador is such a a vast area of beauty, with large wilderness areas like Mealy Mountains, which is marked to become a national park. The Mealy Mountain range is nearby the still unfinished phase III.
The
Torngat Mountain range is already a national park reserve. The whole of Labrador is a hiker's paradise, photographer's heaven, an adventurer's playground, and an alluring scenery buffet.
It is good to know that the transportation system across Labrador is being constructed, but there are delays. Originally the basic construction was set to be completed by 2008. That's been put back to 2009.
(source: NL Gov., Dept. of Works, Services & Transportation)
The completion of the TLH is a priority, a top tourism priority, and a vital infrastructure link for residents who rely on the highway to travel for basic needs, not to mention more serious matters concerning health. We all know that a difference in minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death, but imagine suffering a heart attack and having to drive extra travel hours to get to a medical facility. A paved road would save hours on certain drives, as well as lives. Phase I and II are mostly gravel road, and phase III is still under construction and will resume in the spring.
There is every advantage to a more speedy highway completion with asphalt surface. There are many reasons to accelerate the development of the road system. As mentioned, for residents' use alone. For all intents and purposes the island of Newfoundland has a very accomodating highway and road system. There are some places on the south coast that still rely on the coastal boat service to provide supplies and transportaion. We as islanders take this for granted. Many residents and parts of Labrador can not take the transportation system for granted. They are not on par with the rest of us on the island of Newfoundland.
A full hard top road system will open up more opportunities for economic development. For those with an entrepreneurial inclination an inviting paved TLH must be great news, and help in the business development mindset. Possibly there could be more service stations, convenience stores, Tim Horton's?, camp grounds, parks, hiking outposts, canoeing/kayaking businesses, fishing or hunting trips, outback expedition businesses, snowmobile rentals, flight rentals, skiing or golf resorts, cabin development, forestry and mining industries, and others. The easier it is to get to places like this, the more likely people will come, the more likely more people than at present will come, and perhaps more likely people will come more often.
It must be frustrating to have to travel long distances on gravel roads. Before the Burin Peninsula and the TCH were paved it would take up to 10 hours to travel from my old home town to St. John's. Now it can be done in 3-3.5 hours. For car owners it is doubly irritating when you suffer the many car problems arising from such a long rock popping drive. The incidence of broken windshields, tire damage, base pan damage, paint chipping, and other problems are multiplied when travelling on dirt roads. If tourists did not have to experience such problems, they would probably be happier campers, which leads me to the tourism aspect of the TLH.
There are beautiful places in the province that are never seen by most of the public because they were not advertised or publicized. I have done searches on the web and have seen interesting and beautiful places from Labrador, but there are others I cannot find. There are some scenic places like
Porcupine Strand, a 40 km stretch on Labrador's coast
Our tourism agencies could broaden their scope in terms of presenting more places to visit. With a fully completed TLH, they will be able to promote places in such a way as, "Just a one hour drive from Goose Bay, Glacial valleys at Grand River and Grand Lake can be seen along the Trans Labrador Highway", or "The Wilson River area is especially picturesque in the fall, and the Bowdoin Canyon and Muskrat Falls
are also short strolls from the road. The Mealy Mountain range is near the TLH."
There are many beautiful places in the whole province that don't get the exposure it deserves simply for aesthetics sake alone. On the coast there are some nice looking communities like St. Lewis
When I see an image of some beach, coastline, rock formation, cove, hilltop view, that I haven't seen before, it makes me proud to be a citizen of NL, just to know that this is where I live - and look what we have all around us. I then wonder why places like Porcupine Strand in Labrador, Grand River, etc. are not presented when our tourism brochures are produced. Instead of more of the same, Cape Spear, Quidi Vidi, a typical lighthouse, it would be refreshing to see other places in the province used in tourism brochures.
While much of Labrador is 100's of miles from the nearest road, it is still popular with hikers, adventure tourists, mountain climbers and photographers. This is especially true for the Torngat Mountains, Cirque Mountains, Palmer River Valley. There are a outfitting and tour companies ready to take you to those places. But the potential growth in this sector alone seems like the big land sky's the limit. It would be much more enticing for people to want to see Labrador when there is a smooth, paved, and speedier road infrastructure. It's alot more to look forward to when you know a trip won't take two or three times as long as by gravel road. For anyone curious about what the landscape looks like, who wants to take new photographs, who wants to appreciate and enjoy clean sprawlig, rolling and rugged landscapes, then the paved TLH will be like just landing on a new planet, and that discovery is exciting.
How can the completion of the TLH be sped up when the Labrador Transportation Initiative Fund, LTIF, is run dry? With time the TLH will likely help increase business for current entrepreneurs, or help ignite new business initiatives. For the province this means more tax income in the future. I'm not an economist but it seems the NL government can reserve say for example, an extra $50 million (beyond any budgeted amount), roughly enough to cover an additional 50 km worth of paved highway, from the next surplus the province gets. Federal funds to match or even double this amount will speed up the process.
Mile 1 Club
The west coast of Canada obviously has by far the highest, and many would think the most spectacular mountain ranges. Most provinces east of Alberta have low elevaton hills in comparison. However, Labrador's mountains bring it into the mile 1 club. There are at least two mountains that are actually more than a mile high. They are situated in the Torngat Mountain range in northern Labrador. Mount Caubvick's elevation is 5420 feet. Mont D'Iberville is 5419 feet, and virtually a mile high is Torngarsoak Mountain at 5232 feet.
Here is a great picture of another virtual "miler", Mount Erhart (elevation, 5049 ft.).
I will be sending a letter to Hospitality Newfoundland & Labrador in support of expediting the TLH completion, and improve the ferry service (more on this later) to Labrador. It will be posted here for anyone else to copy it if interested.
The
Torngat Mountain range is already a national park reserve. The whole of Labrador is a hiker's paradise, photographer's heaven, an adventurer's playground, and an alluring scenery buffet.It is good to know that the transportation system across Labrador is being constructed, but there are delays. Originally the basic construction was set to be completed by 2008. That's been put back to 2009.
(source: NL Gov., Dept. of Works, Services & Transportation)The completion of the TLH is a priority, a top tourism priority, and a vital infrastructure link for residents who rely on the highway to travel for basic needs, not to mention more serious matters concerning health. We all know that a difference in minutes and seconds can be the difference between life and death, but imagine suffering a heart attack and having to drive extra travel hours to get to a medical facility. A paved road would save hours on certain drives, as well as lives. Phase I and II are mostly gravel road, and phase III is still under construction and will resume in the spring.
There is every advantage to a more speedy highway completion with asphalt surface. There are many reasons to accelerate the development of the road system. As mentioned, for residents' use alone. For all intents and purposes the island of Newfoundland has a very accomodating highway and road system. There are some places on the south coast that still rely on the coastal boat service to provide supplies and transportaion. We as islanders take this for granted. Many residents and parts of Labrador can not take the transportation system for granted. They are not on par with the rest of us on the island of Newfoundland.
A full hard top road system will open up more opportunities for economic development. For those with an entrepreneurial inclination an inviting paved TLH must be great news, and help in the business development mindset. Possibly there could be more service stations, convenience stores, Tim Horton's?, camp grounds, parks, hiking outposts, canoeing/kayaking businesses, fishing or hunting trips, outback expedition businesses, snowmobile rentals, flight rentals, skiing or golf resorts, cabin development, forestry and mining industries, and others. The easier it is to get to places like this, the more likely people will come, the more likely more people than at present will come, and perhaps more likely people will come more often.
It must be frustrating to have to travel long distances on gravel roads. Before the Burin Peninsula and the TCH were paved it would take up to 10 hours to travel from my old home town to St. John's. Now it can be done in 3-3.5 hours. For car owners it is doubly irritating when you suffer the many car problems arising from such a long rock popping drive. The incidence of broken windshields, tire damage, base pan damage, paint chipping, and other problems are multiplied when travelling on dirt roads. If tourists did not have to experience such problems, they would probably be happier campers, which leads me to the tourism aspect of the TLH.
There are beautiful places in the province that are never seen by most of the public because they were not advertised or publicized. I have done searches on the web and have seen interesting and beautiful places from Labrador, but there are others I cannot find. There are some scenic places like
Porcupine Strand, a 40 km stretch on Labrador's coastOur tourism agencies could broaden their scope in terms of presenting more places to visit. With a fully completed TLH, they will be able to promote places in such a way as, "Just a one hour drive from Goose Bay, Glacial valleys at Grand River and Grand Lake can be seen along the Trans Labrador Highway", or "The Wilson River area is especially picturesque in the fall, and the Bowdoin Canyon and Muskrat Falls
are also short strolls from the road. The Mealy Mountain range is near the TLH."
There are many beautiful places in the whole province that don't get the exposure it deserves simply for aesthetics sake alone. On the coast there are some nice looking communities like St. Lewis
When I see an image of some beach, coastline, rock formation, cove, hilltop view, that I haven't seen before, it makes me proud to be a citizen of NL, just to know that this is where I live - and look what we have all around us. I then wonder why places like Porcupine Strand in Labrador, Grand River, etc. are not presented when our tourism brochures are produced. Instead of more of the same, Cape Spear, Quidi Vidi, a typical lighthouse, it would be refreshing to see other places in the province used in tourism brochures.
While much of Labrador is 100's of miles from the nearest road, it is still popular with hikers, adventure tourists, mountain climbers and photographers. This is especially true for the Torngat Mountains, Cirque Mountains, Palmer River Valley. There are a outfitting and tour companies ready to take you to those places. But the potential growth in this sector alone seems like the big land sky's the limit. It would be much more enticing for people to want to see Labrador when there is a smooth, paved, and speedier road infrastructure. It's alot more to look forward to when you know a trip won't take two or three times as long as by gravel road. For anyone curious about what the landscape looks like, who wants to take new photographs, who wants to appreciate and enjoy clean sprawlig, rolling and rugged landscapes, then the paved TLH will be like just landing on a new planet, and that discovery is exciting.
How can the completion of the TLH be sped up when the Labrador Transportation Initiative Fund, LTIF, is run dry? With time the TLH will likely help increase business for current entrepreneurs, or help ignite new business initiatives. For the province this means more tax income in the future. I'm not an economist but it seems the NL government can reserve say for example, an extra $50 million (beyond any budgeted amount), roughly enough to cover an additional 50 km worth of paved highway, from the next surplus the province gets. Federal funds to match or even double this amount will speed up the process.
Mile 1 Club
The west coast of Canada obviously has by far the highest, and many would think the most spectacular mountain ranges. Most provinces east of Alberta have low elevaton hills in comparison. However, Labrador's mountains bring it into the mile 1 club. There are at least two mountains that are actually more than a mile high. They are situated in the Torngat Mountain range in northern Labrador. Mount Caubvick's elevation is 5420 feet. Mont D'Iberville is 5419 feet, and virtually a mile high is Torngarsoak Mountain at 5232 feet.
Here is a great picture of another virtual "miler", Mount Erhart (elevation, 5049 ft.).
I will be sending a letter to Hospitality Newfoundland & Labrador in support of expediting the TLH completion, and improve the ferry service (more on this later) to Labrador. It will be posted here for anyone else to copy it if interested.
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