Excellent(ish) swimming pools/leisure facilities in Winnipeg to take young children to?

Deank wrote:

did you declare your gas purchase at the border as required?

No, I did not declare the incremental gas I purchased (the difference was only about 3 gallons as I filled up before I left.) However, we declared all our purchases and presented receipts at the border - made it really quick to pass through.

Deank wrote:did you remember that your gas tax is now going to maintaining another countries roads so to maintain yours a little extra tax has to be taken?

Perhaps we should be looking at what the US does with their gas taxes and how they get allocated. Our highways are absolute sh1t compared to those in the US.

Deank wrote:Even forgetting that. $20 is really not that much. Especially considering that We have had cheaper gas quite frequently AND it dont take much of an exchange difference to really eat that $20 up.

Oh, cheap gas isn't the motivator for me, although it is quite the difference. But when you have people in this city who will line up for hours and blocks to save $3 on a tank of gas, you can see where it would be the motivator for some.

Deank wrote:The one I like about the gas price difference is that their "mid" gas is 2 cents per gallon more or even the same price as regular ( and I have seen cheaper)
instead of the 5 cents per litre more we pay here.

The difference between mid and regular will add 50+K to a tank of gas for me when I am on the highway.

I forgot to, but next time check the octane ratings on US gas. IIRC, US regular unleaded has a lower octane rating than Canadian regular unleaded ( kind of like US vs. Canadian beer! )

"
I forgot to, but next time check the octane ratings on US gas. IIRC,
US regular unleaded has a lower octane rating than Canadian regular
unleaded ( kind of like US vs. Canadian beer! )"

hmm.. I thought it was all the same... but my one van never did like the regular from the one station across.. the "engine" light always came on until I burnt most of the tank

but even the premium is only a few pennies more per gallon instead of the many pennies more per litre.

Interstate highways are paid by the US federal government. They are built to a very high standard.

...Something about landing planes on the highway if necessary.

BTW US feds also pay for urban transit.

Hence the higher standard.

For some reason we are satisfied with the sh1t highways in this province. It isn't once you cross the US border either. It's once you cross any border. Look at the difference between Manitoba and Saskatchewan highways.

Disgraceful!

grumpy old man wrote:Interstate highways are paid by the US federal government. They are built to a very high standard.

...Something about landing planes on the highway if necessary.

BTW US feds also pay for urban transit.

old wives tales my dear

they US feds pay no more for the highways and transit systems then our feds pay.

and no.. its not about landing planes on freeways

That was my understanding.

St Norberter wrote:Hence the higher standard.

For some reason we are satisfied with the sh1t highways in this province. It isn't once you cross the US border either. It's once you cross any border. Look at the difference between Manitoba and Saskatchewan highways.

Disgraceful!

EXACTLY..its not Canada V USA ... its Manitoba V most other places.


But!!!!!... go drive for a minute off the main highways. You will quickly find that the "seondary roads" are just as bad or worse then our "secondary roads"

Also of note. Minnesota for example. They are facing a MASSIVE infrastructure crisis. With several Billion dollars in shortfalls and no way to raise the money. Within 15 years something like 35% of the bridges will be shut from inability to meet standards.

All those freeways passes cost enormous sums of money dont ya know.

Yeah, once we got into Minneapolis, their city streets were as bad if not worse than ours.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.cfm

Examples of design standards for the Interstate System include full
control of access, design speeds of 50 to 70 miles per hour (depending
on type of terrain), a minimum of two travel lanes in each direction,
12-foot lane widths, 10-foot right paved shoulder, and 4-foot left paved
shoulder. Initially, the design had to be adequate to meet the traffic
volumes expected in 1975.


Revenue from the Federal gas and other motor-vehicle user taxes was
credited to the Highway Trust Fund to pay the Federal share of
Interstate and all other Federal-aid highway projects. In this way, the
Act guaranteed construction of all segments on a "pay-as-you-go" basis,
thus satisfying one of President Eisenhower's primary requirements,
namely that the program be self-financing without contributing to the
Federal budget deficit.


http://www.transportation.org/

AASHTO Expert Urges "New Strategy" to make America's Bridges Healthy

Built to last 50 years, the bulk of the nation's 590,000 bridges are 43 years old; and 74,000 bridges (12.4%) are classified as "structurally deficient," meaning that one or more aspects of a bridge's structural condition require attention. Meanwhile, truck traffic has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, and the trucking industry is pushing for heavier loads. "We are facing a perfect storm regarding our bridges," said Malcolm T. Kerley, P.E., Chief Engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation. Testifying on behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Kerley told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit that "current funding levels are not adequate for the job at hand. A huge backlog of bridge needs remains." (Download Kerleys oral and witten testimony)

St Norberter wrote:Yeah, once we got into Minneapolis, their city streets were as bad if not worse than ours.

that's quite the shocker eh?

and something that most people dont realize. They think that all the streets are the same quality as the freeway system and go on and on about how good it is there.

mind you.. they have some insanely good parks in those areas.

So is their model better? Massive freeways... with really meh..."regular" roads.. and alot better parks and greenspace?