Province removes toilet facilities because of maintenance costs and replaces them with porta potties. Apparently, the penny-pinching administration on Broadway doesn’t think porta potties need maintenance . . .
By Volker Beckmann
As truck traffic carrying cargo north has become busier over the last 15 to 20 years, the number of single and double length semi-trailer trucks has increased. In winter, passing or following a semi with snow billowing behind can be a white-knuckle experience. There have been too many accidents. Apparently, Highway 6 is the only highway in all of Canada that allows these long “rocky mountain doubles” on single lane highways. It is certainly better NOT to pass one in winter in snowy conditions. Of course, on four-lane divided highways like the Trans-Canada, it is much safer.
In 2022, a group of concerned northern residents formed a Safer Highway 6 Citizens Action Group and raised a petition of 6,300 names demanding that the Province of Manitoba undertake numerous improvements to make the highway safer. If Sweden, Ireland, and Australia could implement road improvements defined by iRAP, International Road Assessment Program, then why could Manitoba not do that? Sweden has reduced their accidents and deaths by 50-70% by following iRAP standards. Northern Ontario is reviewing the same standards. It is time for Manitoba to do the same.
The Petition Group presented a brief with specific recommendations that included wider shoulders to park at the side of the road in safety, passing lanes to pass a semi in safety, better cell service for emergencies, and clean and well maintained rest stops with garbage bins, as well as a 2 + 1 lane system that Sweden has adopted. In discussions with the previous government, they began to explore options, but nothing came about.
Ponton has been and is a key service stop on Highway 6 some 160 kilometres south of Thompson. For 40 years it was a gas and bus stop with restaurant, washrooms and a small hotel that served the traveling public well whether heading south or north. Even visitors traveling from Alberta or Saskatchewan on the route to Thompson pass through Ponton and use its services. It has had several private owners and was sold some 15 years ago to the Cross Lake Indian Band or Pimichikamak Cree Nation.
Unfortunately, the whole complex burned down in July 2018 and has still not been rebuilt. The Band has struggled with financial, insurance, environmental, and regulatory issues. Would a private operator have been able to rebuild them sooner? When it eventually gets rebuilt, the owners need to include fast speed EV charging as that’s where the future of transportation is heading. Currently, there is no such charging infrastructure between Winnipeg and Thompson. Most small towns and First Nations cannot afford to do that, but that’s another story to tell.
For the rubber tire traffic, the lack of Ponton’s services and washrooms is a hindrance to travel to Manitoba’s north. More so, Devil’s Lake is a pretty little Wayside Park about an hour south of Grand Rapids. A few years ago, the province removed the outdoor toilets because of vandalism. Now there is only one rest room facility between Wabowden and St. Martin, a distance of nearly 450 km. Which means people have to stop and have a pee or poop in the bush (sorry)! Northerners traveling south have found unpleasant solutions as they know they have no other choice. This long route can be a very unpleasant situation for elderly people, children, and people with health issues. Visitors from the USA and southern Canada look at a GPS map and think there are rest stops at Devil’s Lake and Ponton. Not so.
Two years ago, I asked the Minister of Transportation why they would dismantle them? His answer was they could not afford the toilet bowl vandalism and wanted the private sector to provide that. That year, the Province spent $100 million on road and bridge improvements down south and couldn’t fix northern toilets? Or find a vandalism proof solution as Newfoundland has done on their long remote highways? How do we welcome tourists to drive to “friendly” Northern Manitoba without public clean, safe, sanitary rest stops as we had for decades?
Recently, our new government has announced a “solution”. As of this month, Devil’s Lake now has two porta-potties! Which does beg some questions: would YOU use them? Who will clean them all year around? What happens when someone pushes them over as is bound to happen? Do we now put up a facetious warning sign after leaving Ashern that you may have to use the toilet facilities in the great outdoors? If you are bringing a camper, you do have a solution. Not every traveler comes with those.
My wife and I went on an incredible African safari experience a few years ago to photograph lions, rhinos, leopards, etc. After bouncing around in an open 4 x 4 for several hours, the need for a bathroom break became urgent. We asked if there was a washroom close by. The guide’s answer was “Behind every tree is a washroom.” Yah, right! With a possible lion lurking nearby? Well, maybe hiding behind a tree works in northern Manitoba in the summer. But try that in the winter when it’s -20°C and huge snow banks on the sides of the road!
All in all, to spur economic growth in the north, increase visitations, retain longtime residents, this province needs a safer and cleaner Highway 6. It’s for the health and welfare of everyone. Porta-potties are a start and certainly better than nothing. Let’s wait until the end of this year to see how that works, and what will be next year’s plans for safer highways to reduce fatigue, accidents, and deaths on Highway 6?
