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It is true that the proposed hospital location on County Road 42 and Concession 9 is closer to where County residents live. Lakeshore residents, in particular, will be about 40% closer to hospital than currently.
However, the proposed location isn't closer for everyone. LaSalle residents will find themselves travelling significantly further if this location is approved. Google Maps shows that it's 10.8 km today from Reaume & Matchette, which is pretty central to where the majority of people live in LaSalle. As the images below show, he distance is 14.7 km to CR42 and Concession 9 via Cabana (36% further), and 18-20 km using one of the expressway routes (at least 67% more). Notice that the travel times all seem to be pretty similar. What is equally relevant to this discussion are the costs. If we are collectively putting more miles on the roads, it costs everyone more in road maintenance, snow clearing, car maintenance and fuel, as well as public transit. |
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The bottom line is that if we are going to consolidate our current hospitals into one new facility, it needs to be accessible to all its users, including those who don't drive. Inevitably we should expect some to be winners and others to be losers, but on balance, improved access for some residents should not result in significant hardship and additional costs for others.
