By Treena Mielke
A one-stop shop permit program for oversize and overweight vehicles introduced to Ponoka County council last week had one councillor digging in his heels in opposition.
Keith Beebe, from division 5, is concerned drivers using the Transportation Routing and Vehicle Information System Multi Jurisdictional (TRAVIS MJ) will be able to register for permits on line and then access Ponoka County’s roads with overweight vehicles without the county’s knowledge.
He says the system is “pure trouble” and although Coun. Gawney Hinkley also expressed concern, Beebe was the only councillor to vote against endorsing the program.
In a letter to mayors and reeves of Alberta’s municipalities, Luke Ouellette, minister of transportation, said the new system is intended to be a more efficient permitting process that will enhance services to industry by providing a one-stop-shop permit program.
Information on the Alberta Transportation website states the program automatically checks the suitability of oversize vehicle travel on municipal roads, based on the data and rules provided by the municipality.
Provided the information on the application matches the municipal business rules, the system will be able to provide automatic municipal approval.
Each municipality using TRAVIS MJ for permitting will continue to be the sole road authority for their roads and will continue to set the criteria and make the decisions for allowing the movement of oversize loads on their roads, the government website states.
County CAO Charlie Cuthbert sees the system as soon being compulsory.
“It’s not written in stone, but I expect we will be on this system sooner or later,” he said.
“Over the next year, we will be working with municipalities to bring them on board, making them part of the TRAVIS MJ initiative,” said Ouellette in his letter.