Letters, July 10

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/07/2024 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No need for AI

Re: City looks to AI to get jump on potholes (July 9)

Artificial Intelligence to find potholes? How about some City of Winnipeg employees simply start by driving down Winnipeg’s main arteries like Pembina, Abinojii Mikinah, Portage Avenue, Main Street, Kenaston, Provencher, Henderson, and mark the pothole with self-dissolving paint?

I realize that it’s not as fashionable or futuristic as AI, but it does involve intelligence, albeit human, and gets the job done without the capital cost and ongoing maintenance of equipment. Save money, and get the job done quickly — now that’s intelligent.

You may ask, what about the emergence of new potholes? Potholes occur almost exclusively during the freeze-thaw cycle in spring, so new ones after that are rare. We have driven most of Winnipeg’s main thoroughfares since the last freeze-up and the large and dangerous potholes that were born in April are still there in all their tire-busting glory. With this proposed AI initiative by the City we will now be able to use our newfound status as the North American city with the quickest pothole detection as another attribute to attract business and tourists to Winnipeg. While we will now be able to identify pothole locations faster than anyone else, we will still hold the record for the slowest repair program. Three things are guaranteed in Winnipeg: beautiful summers, character-building winters and potholes.

I understand how artificial intelligence works but I question the intelligence of using it to find the potholes and then not having a robust response team of people and equipment to repair them.

Wally Barton

Winnipeg

How on earth does the city expect to get a jump on potholes by using AI?

By spending $75,000 to test out this new system they could have filled a lot of potholes instead of wasting our tax dollars on this garbage. They need cameras to tell them where the potholes are located? Do we not have thousands of telephone calls and emails sent to 311 advising them as to where these potholes exist? And those calls and emails cost the city no extra money other than the salaries of the 311 call centre staff.

Potholes are still sitting there, neither filled nor repaired two months after they have been reported, so how will an AI reporting system fix this? Please stop wasting our tax dollars and use this money wisely to fix what has been reported.

Debbie Hill

Winnipeg

Regarding using AI to see which potholes need the most work, I would think the citizens of Winnipeg would gladly send in pictures.

Paul Forest

Winnipeg

Health changes matter to some

Re: Better systems, capacity what hospitals really need (Editorial, July 9)

Correct me if I am wrong but don’t ERs assess how critical a patient’s need is, and they can get bumped as critical need patients come in? I assume this is what they mean by high or low acuity. So, although it may be true that high-acuity patients end up with little change in wait time, for low-acuity patients going to a minor injury clinic is going to make a massive difference in reducing their wait time. Why is that not seen as a huge benefit?

Sorry, but if I have to wait with a child for hours and hours in an ER versus going to a minor injuries clinic, why are we not celebrating that?

The concern is bed availability, but what about the apparent move to more day surgery so that beds are not taken up by patients? Having just gone through knee replacement and opting for day surgery I know of one bed that was freed up for someone. Perhaps not a big deal overall but to that one patient presumably it was treasured.

Going with this joint replacement theme, the reinstituting of post-rehab physio for knee and hip replacement, this will also make a dent in bed usage as post-surgery patients will require less rehospitalizations when they have been unable to manage the ongoing care of that joint on their own? I suspect there are no stats on this but it is going to make a difference.

What other little things are happening that may be making a difference?

I feel deeply for the hospital staff and people with high acuity needs but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be recognizing and celebrating the little things too. They aren’t so little for the person who got that bed or the family who didn’t have to wait forever in a room of very sick people.

Valerie Kellberg

Winnipeg

A roundabout fix

Re: “Simple solutions” (Letters, July 9)

Traffic signals on the Trans Canada Highway are the last thing that is needed. Think of the environmental impact of thousands of vehicles unnecessarily braking and then restarting.

John Zaplitny is right in that there is no fix for inattention on human beings, but stopping traffic is not the answer. The previous government did an intensive review of the intersection at Highway 16 and the TCH. The conclusion was to build a large roundabout. I am sure the conclusions reached by this panel concerning this intersection will be the same for the Carberry crossing.

As a “have-not” province it is beyond our means to copy the interstate highway system with grade separation at every crossing, and speed limit reductions at dangerous intersections are a massive failure. So, the conclusion must be a forced speed reduction created by infrastructure that necessarily takes away the straight-through option. Yes, a roundabout!

We have acres of land, so the sizing of the turn can be built so that the turning radius is minimized to accommodate the turnpike trucks which are becoming more common on our roads these days. The trucking industry must get on board with this nessessary modification, as the huge safety factor of the intersection type is well documented.

Let’s get on with this program!

David Tustin

Gimli

Courage deserves praise

Re: Daughter says Alice Munro kept silent after learning of sexual abuse by stepfather (July 8)

One of the most difficult tasks that people have growing up is coming to terms with the shortcomings of their parents. Fortunately for most of us that does not include reconciling ourselves to the intransigence of a parent who is in denial as it pertains to sexual abuse.

I feel for Andrea Robin Skinner who courageously told her story of being abused by Alice Munro’s second husband. All too often we deny abuse because we feel we have to protect ourselves and the abuser from the embarrassment, shame and consequences of abuse.

Andrea Skinner deserves our approbation — Alice Munro, not so much.

Mac Horsburgh

Winnipeg

Take some blame off consumers

Re: Pain and possibility in Plastic Free July (July 8)

Regarding things like plastic water bottles, these are, for many people, of all ages, easier to carry and use than metal containers. They are light weight, and are easily washed out and refilled.

With other plastic containers, consumers have little choice. Condiments, mustards, ketchup, and so on, used to be bottled in glass jars, now they are mostly in plastic bottles which are designed to be one-use only. Boxes of cookies, in lightweight cardboard, look good on the store shelf but upon opening them, the customer sees cookies wrapped in plastic bags which also have plastic containers to keep cookies separated from each other.

Not everyone can buy all the ingredients and bake their own cookie treats. It’s time that the world stops blaming consumers and looks toward the manufacturers of plastic-wrapped items.

Judy Herscovitch

Winnipeg