By Daniel Brown
Sept. 27, 2018
A proposal to phase out night-time cash transactions on the
Confederation Bridge may affect public safety, MLA Jamie Fox says.
Strait Crossing Development Inc., the company operating the
bridge, has proposed stopping cash transactions from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. between
October and May each year.
If the proposal is approved by Transport Canada, there will
be no toll collectors during those hours. Instead, drivers using cash must
request the bridge supervisor from the control room via intercom.
Fox, the District 19 MLA, is worried the problems he sees
with the idea weren’t explained to Transport Canada, he said.
“There’s a ripple effect in doing this.”
If approved, there
would only be a supervisor and a bridge patrolman on site during those hours,
Fox said.
“But the patrolman could be in New Brunswick.”
The supervisor would have to leave the control room to make
change for cash transactions, which is a five- to six-minute walk one-way.
There would be nobody in the control room to supervise the
bridge monitors during that time. The supervisor wouldn’t have communication
with the patrolman while they’re walking, Fox said.
A car accident could occur, or the patrolman could get hurt,
Fox said.
“We need to make sure the safety of the general public is
adhered to.”
Two bridge staff members told Fox there has been at least
two people jump off the bridge in the last year. With fewer staff, incidents
like this are harder to prevent, he said.
“I’m being told staff are concerned over this continuous
reduction in staff.”
Members of the Borden-Carleton fire department told him they’ll
be relied on more if this proposal is approved. Without toll collectors, there
may be no one to shut down bridge traffic during an accident until they arrive,
Fox said.
Fox is also concerned people who can’t or refuse to have a
credit card will be affected. Cash is legal tender in Canada, therefore it’s a
citizens right to use it, Fox said.
“Cash is the tender you have to accept.”
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