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Joyce presents petition calling for road improvements on the north shore of the Bay of Islands March 28, 2007 Eddie Joyce, Opposition Transportation and Works Critic and MHA for the District of Bay of Islands, presented a 1,500 name petition over three days to the House of Assembly from angry residents of the north shore of the Bay of Islands who are demanding improvements to the highway running through their towns. Earlier this month, a meeting was held in Gillams on the north shore of the Bay of Islands to discuss dangerous road conditions in the area. At the meeting, residents expressed their anger and disappointment that government is refusing to invest money to upgrade their road infrastructure. They also threatened to blockade the highway if something isn?t done to address these problems. "Road conditions remain treacherous throughout my district and the people are getting fed up with the lack of action and lack of response from Minister Hickey," said Mr. Joyce. "I presented a petition to the House of Assembly signed by approximately 1,500 people who want an immediate response from government. The town councils in my district have been requesting a meeting with the current and previous minister for over a year and a half to address their concerns, and there has still been no action or meeting on this request." Joyce said that many of the problems facing motorists in the area include dangerous potholes, disappearing road shoulders, lack of maintenance, insufficient snow clearing service, aging infrastructure such as guard rails, and a lack of pavement. Joyce also said that heavy equipment and tractor trailers that use this highway regularly are putting increased pressure on the road and causing more damage on a daily basis. "With the increased dangers being posed on the highways of the north and south shores of the Bay of Islands, safety will continue to be compromised. I cannot understand why this government will not address such serious problems before an accident occurs. Once that happens, it will be too late to go back and fix the problems that currently exist."
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