- Target:
- The Government and Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
- Region:
- Canada
The Visser family purchased their property 41 years ago because it was located out of town in a quiet place. Now, due to a new highway being built on three sides of their home, they no longer have the peace they once had, nor the value of their home. On two sides of the home there are giant ramps and a traffic circle and on the third side there is a giant overpass surrounding the home.
No attempt has been made by the government or any highway officials to compensate or purchase any of the Visser family property.
The government that we help fund has ruined our property and it's value and then tells us “We are perfectly within our rights”. Is it right to devalue a person’s home and property to nothing, let alone to make living there unbearable and dangerous? If we could sell and move we would have already, however we have been advised by our real-estate agent that our home is essentially unsellable. We have never felt so betrayed by our own government.
When we asked the government employee we spoke with how they would like to live where we live (surrounded on three sides of our home by highway), they replied” Mrs. Visser, I wouldn’t live there.”
When the government first mentioned twinning the highway, they assured us that if the noise became a problem, that they would put up a privacy sound wall to protect us. That never happened. Now, they say that they don’t have the funds for that. We have been told that such a privacy wall could cost over a million dollars to construct. Honestly though, which option makes more sense to the tax payers; 1) Buy our property and stop ruining our home life, or 2) spend approximately $1,000,000 to build a wall. It doesn’t seem like that difficult of a decision to make.
We have been very understanding about the necessary construction going on and have tried to be quiet and respectful about the situation we have been unfairly thrown into. However, it has now become unbearable, and simply unfair that we have been left with no options. Surely someone can understand and address this injustice.
Please sign our petition if you support our situation and our request for fairness. Thank you very much.
Links to Newspaper articles about the family's situation:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1252629.html
http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2011-06-19/article-2593831/Familys-sanctuary-disturbed/1
http://www.ngnews.ca/Opinion/Letters-to-the-Editor/2011-06-24/article-2611483/There%26rsquo%3Bs-a-reasonable-solution-to-family%26rsquo%3Bs-dilemma/1
VISSER FAMILY PETITION
Whereas, we the Visser family are facing the loss of our environment because of construction, noise and future operation from Exit 27A without compensation and;
Whereas, the quality of our family life is greatly diminished by the present construction and future traffic projections, and;
Whereas, the Visser family has experienced a drastic drop in property value, proven by a recent real estate assessment, and;
Whereas, the Visser family has, for several years, raised Canadian Kennel Club Yorkshire Terriers which are now showing severe signs of stress and anxiety related to their recent surrounding environment, and;
Whereas, the Visser family property has begun to subside due to the construction activity;
Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned support the Visser family and request immediate, fair action from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.
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The Compensate the Visser family for invasion by government highway petition to The Government and Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal was written by Charity Visser and is in the category Justice at GoPetition.