Greg's Public Awareness Blog

01/20/2026

I just watched the shortest Council meeting ever. I have no idea what was in the documents mentioned in their motion. Councilor Young tried for some discussion but appeared to be outflanked and then was told he had missed his chance to have his item discussed on the floor.
It all seemed extremely odd. Then Council moved into a closed meeting about Energy and third party involvement versus municipal interest.

Is there anyone out there that could enlighten me as to what was really happening here?

Greg

01/14/2026

I get searched for drugs at the border EVERY TIME because I look like him. Every time.

It’s a science

01/10/2026

Stroke, heart attack, head injury, car accident, giving birth, house fires, convulsing children, facial laceration, gun shot wounds.

Some of these eventually affect us and require immediate response - any delay can cause irreparable damage.

The Traffic Plan wants to narrow roads and congest streets - slow everyone down to a crawl and impair traffic flow through intersections They state this at least 25 times in the report.
This prevents emergency vehicles from arriving at YOUR emergency.

How happy will you be that the fire truck had to stop traffic, make it back up and then try to navigate a corner such as the Swirls intersection at 4th Street SW. The traffic planners seem to say burn baby, burn.

And what does the MPC have against making a safe right hand turn onto Division Ave? They want to bring this to Riverside and other areas of the City. Why?

HOW DOES TRAFFIC CALMING AFFECT EMERGENCY VEHICLE RESPONSE TIME?

Here are some quotes from various published articles :

https://highways.dot.gov/
5.2 Emergency Services – Fire
The local fire department is generally the first responder to an emergency medical situation. The time it takes for a fire vehicle to arrive is a primary concerns along with the safety of the emergency vehicle occupants. Of all emergency services, fire departments have traditionally been the most vocal about traffic calming. Some cities explicitly discourage and even restrict certain traffic calming measures from being placed on bus routes.

1/ Traffic calming measures are designed to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety on the roads. However, the impact on emergency vehicle response time can vary. Some studies suggest that traffic calming can lead to increased response times for emergency vehicles, particularly fire apparatus, due to their size and the need for a quick response to emergencies.

2/ The efficiency of emergency medical services (EMS), fire and police departments is increasingly compromised by traffic congestion and the reluctance of drivers to yield to emergency vehicles. A recent industry survey of 2,500 first responders showed that 49.5% of first responder agencies reported worsened response times in 2024 compared to 2023. Another 41.7% cited traffic congestion as the biggest challenge in improving response times.

3/ IFC Section 503.4.1 states that traffic calming measures placed on fire apparatus access roads "shall be prohibited unless approved by the fire code official."

4/ In Section A.5.2.18, NFPA 1141 states that prior to installation of traffic calming, the authority having jurisdiction "should work with the emergency response departments to ensure traffic calming devices can be negotiated by emergency response vehicles in a safe and timely manner without damage to those vehicles." ( The Swirls corner certainly does not allow this.)

There is a lot more info.

So what do you think? How happy will you be with the Municipal Planning people if it is your house on fire? Or your baby that must be rushed to hospital?

I agree with safety, but it must be for everyone - not just a select few.

This is my opinion.
Greg

highways.dot.gov
Federal Highway Administration

Strengthening our world-class highway system.

01/09/2026

Here is an interesting reply to one of my posts:

Dave Reed
Agreed, elected officials owe the citizens professionalism and acknowledgment when appropriate… the thing is it’s not always appropriate.
There are crazy citizens that inundate the city with pointless FOIPs. There are pages (like this one sometimes) that encourage people to cut and paste and email complaints, requests ect… these folks are the ones to scream bloody murder when they are finally told to stop that their message was received a hundred times…. It’s a waste of time and resources for the city to keep responding.
As a citizen, I’d prefer our government didn’t get caught in the weeds under the guise of “customer service”. Let’s not confuse the need for customer service in the private sector with the lack of the same in government, where you don’t have any choice until election time…

Greg's Public Awareness Blog
Dave Reed the cut and pasted prevented the Transportation Plan from being approved July 12th. The Management was expecting a rubber stamp approval. Public pressure works. Unless you have a better idea?
I don't do Foips. I inform people and I do not directly contact Council .
Taxpayers have a right to know where their money is going and who is making the dumb decisions that cost us great sums of money.

01/09/2026

I have had requests to post City Council"s email addresses.

MED. HAT CITY COUNCIL EMAIL ADDRESSES
lincla@medicinehat.ca
tedclu@medicinehat.ca
bilcoc@medicinehat.ca
chrhel@medicinehat.ca
yusmoh@medicinehat.ca
chepha@medicinehat.ca
danrey@medicinehat.ca
brivar@medicinehat.ca
stuyou@medicinehat.ca
sanpar@medicinehat.ca
patboh@medicinehat.ca

01/09/2026

right!

🤣

01/08/2026

Did you know?
The current Transportation Master Plan being forced on us is a copy and paste from Britain, Japanese and USA plans called COMPLETE STREETS -- it is not designed for Medicine Hat.
As far as I know it is an option only, not mandatory. Several cities have opted out of the entire program.
We can too if Council stops the waste of money and the stupidity shown on Division Ave. Everyone wants to be safe but lets use some financial common sense. Stop signs run about 8
$800 installed. My guess on mini-roundabouts is anywhere from $100,000.00 to $250,000.00 .
Lets save some money and put it towards sidewalks and handicapped enhancements. Greg

COMPLETE STREETS - a brief info document:

Counterarguments
Critics have coined the term "incomplete streets" to refer to this trending redesign of roadways, arguing that a standardized redesign of streets neglects the history and social character of public spaces.[45] Projects have been criticized for the use of standardized, less durable design tools that do not compliment pre-existing spatial characters.

Some have claimed that transportation engineers in the US have become too focused on separating cyclists from pedestrians and motorists. This may limit cyclists' perceptions of where it is acceptable to cycle
History
In its early development in the UK in the 1930s. Oregon enacted the first Complete Streets-like policy in the United States in 1971, Federal complete streets legislation was proposed in 2008 and 2009, but failed to become law.[6][7][8]
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 compliant facilities including audible cues for people with low vision, pushbuttons reachable by people in wheelchairs, and curb cuts; and curb extensions.
Traffic calming uses physical design, as well as traffic signs, road surface markings, road use rule changes, and other traffic engineering measures to improve road safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. It aims to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially restrict traffic flow
Road diets remove a lane from the street. For example, allowing parking on one or both sides of a street, or introducing bicycle lanes to reduce the number of driving lanes .
Converting one-way streets into two-way streets forces opposing traffic into close proximity, which requires more careful driving.
Various forms of traffic calming are used in Japanese cities, particularly in large cities like Tokyo and Yokohama. Tokyo's narrow streets force automobiles and pedestrians to be close to one another.

WE DO NOT NEED THIS.

01/08/2026

In Canada - yes

“One idiot is one idiot…” — Franz Kafka

Explanation:
Foolishness becomes dangerous when multiplied and organized. Collective ignorance can overpower reason and truth.
:

01/08/2026

Well planned! Not.

Planning is hard 🥲🤣