NationStates Jolt Archive

It had been a long 48 hours for Premier Németh, for the fith time in those 48 hours he was about to appear live on national television, first those blasted Russians were busy killing his representatives, then the Colerica situation, then the Yelmish conflict, and just 2 hours ago he had announced another development with regards to Colerica. At least this time it would be for happier and more peaceful reasons.
As the final touches were put to his makeup he took his seat, situated as always in his high-back seat in the Premier Office of Celtayoshi house, the large window flanked by two Celtayoshi Flags. He closed his eyes for a minute, just to reflect and sooth his tired mind.
The cameraman idicated two..one and the Premier waited for about two seconds before speaking.

Ladies and Gentlemen, citizens of Celtayoshi, and indeed those of our great neighbours RomeW, it is my utmost pleasure to announce that Emperor Rodin Hartian has accpeted an invitation to visit our great nation. I am delighted to say that we will be discussing matters which will forge a strong and prosperous friendship between our nations. It is our plan to announce some impressive joint projects that will show the world how nations should unite and that these projects will benifit us both. He shall be visiting for a few days during which we hope to accomplish all we can. It is our intention that thsi should not be the last time we meet...

The speech continued while at Ottawa VIP Airport the red carpet was being rolled out, the band was rehersing the national anthem of RomeW, and generally it was hoped the Emperor would be impressed with Celtayoshi. He was expected to arrive the next day at about 0900, the forecast said showers, it was hoped they would hold off. After arriving in Ottawa he would be met by the Vice Premier, and given a short tour of the city, before gonig to Celtayoshi House.

OOC: You can simply refer to my nation as "Rome". The "W" is just there so I could create the nation.

IC: The Roman Emperor touched down in Ottawa at about 4PM local time (which to him felt like 11PM). He was feeling a little jet-lagged, but he still had enough strength to talk to a throng of people gathered in Ottawa at the Parliament buildings to greet him.

"Hello Ottawa. As some of you may already be aware, the Roman people are proud friends of you, the Celtayoshian people, and of all Canadians as a whole. We are working on several projects to beautify Vancouver and to promote your national game, hockey, all over the world. We also share a similar interest in public transit and the environment as your Honourable Premier Nemeth has, and we are just as concerned as Premier Nemeth is over your country's recent problems. However, we look forward to an on-going and ever-growing friendship between Celtayoshi and Rome. Together we will be strong." Hartian left the podium amidst thunderous applause.

He immediately went back to his hotel for a light supper and then, at 8PM, he went to sleep. Tommorow he'd be meeting the Celtayoshian Premier, and he wanted to be fully rested for that.

OOC2: If you want, Celtayoshi, you can begin the talks now.

"Emperor, it is my great pleasure to finally meet you," said Premier Németh, as he smiled and shook hands on the steps of Celtayoshi House for the gathered press.
"I trust you are well rested, do not hesitate to ask the staff for anyhting you may require, but first, I think we should go inside, the heat can get quite stifling at times," as the Premier led the Emperor off into an office room. The Premier poured them both tea, a national obsession, and a glass of water. The two men sat down opposite each other on a small, but not uncomfortably small, oak table.
"I believe we should begin with the proposed road stretching the length of Canada, Yonge Street certainly is an ambious proposal, but achievable. Our last budget reports indicated we have $8trillion in unused funds, so money is no object. The road will be divided between contractors on the Celtayoshi side, to complete it faster, and we will designate it 'Project of National Importance', this means big bonuses for fast completion, and crippling fines for poor workmanship. As for the proposed bus service, we feel this would be a good idea, i believe it should be a joint operation with one of your companies working with Celtayoshi Bus, splitting the profits. A potential problem may be that because transportation is totally nationalised everyone over 72, the retirement age, and under 18, the age of adulthood, is allowed free bus travel in Celtayoshi, we would need to work out if this is going to cause problems to any privatised company needing to keep up profits, who might share the route.
I also believe that we should have service stations every 75kilometres on long open stretches of road, to ensure people have frequent reststops.," the Premier smiled, " but enough of my ramblings, do you have anything to add here?"
The Premier had a whole list of things he had been adivised to discuss, right now he felt a couple of minor issues, such as the public transportation, and service stations would be better to be discussed before some of the Premier's mroe pressing concerns would be tabled.

"Emperor, it is my great pleasure to finally meet you," said Premier Németh, as he smiled and shook hands on the steps of Celtayoshi House for the gathered press.
"I trust you are well rested, do not hesitate to ask the staff for anyhting you may require, but first, I think we should go inside, the heat can get quite stifling at times," as the Premier led the Emperor off into an office room. The Premier poured them both tea, a national obsession, and a glass of water. The two men sat down opposite each other on a small, but not uncomfortably small, oak table.
"I believe we should begin with the proposed road stretching the length of Canada, Yonge Street certainly is an ambious proposal, but achievable. Our last budget reports indicated we have $8trillion in unused funds, so money is no object. The road will be divided between contractors on the Celtayoshi side, to complete it faster, and we will designate it 'Project of National Importance', this means big bonuses for fast completion, and crippling fines for poor workmanship. As for the proposed bus service, we feel this would be a good idea, i believe it should be a joint operation with one of your companies working with Celtayoshi Bus, splitting the profits. A potential problem may be that because transportation is totally nationalised everyone over 72, the retirement age, and under 18, the age of adulthood, is allowed free bus travel in Celtayoshi, we would need to work out if this is going to cause problems to any privatised company needing to keep up profits, who might share the route.
I also believe that we should have service stations every 75kilometres on long open stretches of road, to ensure people have frequent reststops.," the Premier smiled, " but enough of my ramblings, do you have anything to add here?"
The Premier had a whole list of things he had been adivised to discuss, right now he felt a couple of minor issues, such as the public transportation, and service stations would be better to be discussed before some of the Premier's mroe pressing concerns would be tabled.

OOC: I like your public transportation system. I wish we had it here in Canada...

"A pleasure to meet you too," said Hartian as he heartily shook Nemeth's hand. The Emperor laughed a little when the Premier mentioned the heat. "Heh- you should see how hot it gets in Rome. Trust me, this heat is nothing.

Moving on:

Yonge Street- we have plenty of cash left to spare, hence why we're able to take on this project. I read about Yonge Street as a little kid and I really think 'the longest street in the world' needs to be celebrated. We don't have the same program for seniors and minors, but since all public transport is handled by the Roman Government, your program does not pose a problem- we can make a special arrangement so that those rules can extend to Yonge. I am also in full agreement over the service stops- we can't make people sit on that bus all day.

As far as construction goes- I say that our joint company also handles that, and that the construction is overlooked by both our governments. We also think that this company should be a joint venture between our governments, so that we don't get companies bickering at each other over who gets the Yonge Street deal and thus wasting that time that could be used for construction.

Premier Nemeth, your thoughts?"

"Yes, you may be aware that we tend to have a lot of government control transportation.
The construcion of this road being a joint venture will be fine. The will however be several problems when it comes to major cities, I presume this road will detour round, like a by-pass, instead of going straight through, which would involve a lot of reconstruction to current buildings. There also is the problem of crossing the Rocky Mountains, as you are aware this will envolve perhaps the most sophisticated tunnel network in the world, to link many of the valleys. What we propose is one lane in each direction for most mountainous sections, and then in parts, where it is possible, a two lane in either direction for overtaking, we wouldn't want anyone to get stuck behind a lorry for long periods of time. Sticking witht he safety issue, we propose that emergancy telephones, linking directly to the emergancy services be stationed at regular intervals (1km), to allow any accidents to be quickly identified. As well as this it would probably be best if the local police departments patrolled each section of the road withing there 'zones'" The Premier took a drink from some of his tea, whilst he showed the Emperor some of the diagrams of possible solutions to problems such a snow melting during spring, and ice during winter.

OOC: Have you remarked all of Ontario's provincial highways or are they still the same? This is because Yonge is Ontario Highway 11.

"Yes, you may be aware that we tend to have a lot of government control transportation.
The construcion of this road being a joint venture will be fine. The will however be several problems when it comes to major cities, I presume this road will detour round, like a by-pass, instead of going straight through, which would involve a lot of reconstruction to current buildings. There also is the problem of crossing the Rocky Mountains, as you are aware this will envolve perhaps the most sophisticated tunnel network in the world, to link many of the valleys. What we propose is one lane in each direction for most mountainous sections, and then in parts, where it is possible, a two lane in either direction for overtaking, we wouldn't want anyone to get stuck behind a lorry for long periods of time. Sticking witht he safety issue, we propose that emergancy telephones, linking directly to the emergancy services be stationed at regular intervals (1km), to allow any accidents to be quickly identified. As well as this it would probably be best if the local police departments patrolled each section of the road withing there 'zones'" The Premier took a drink from some of his tea, whilst he showed the Emperor some of the diagrams of possible solutions to problems such a snow melting during spring, and ice during winter.

"Well, what we could do is move the work to existing roads and highways, and construct new roads where such does not exist. To my knowledge, Yonge and its path along Highway 11 still exists, so we can use that when we get to Ontario (although it may need to be re-routed since Highway 11 doesn't go to the Manitoba border). We can also use the path that was used by the Trans-Canada Highway outside of Ontario.

As far as emergency telephones go, I agree, but I also think that there should be special emergency numbers one can call where they don't have to pay a fee, because I think the last thing anyone wants to do when they just had their car totalled is fumble for change. We also agree that patrolling should be left to local police departments, and we also think that the cities that Yonge passes through should handle the bulk of the maintenance costs, if they are able to provide them."

Hartian took a sip from his tea. "Not to diverge from the topic, but this tea is excellent. Where do you get it from?"

OOC: They are all the same, since I don't know enough about where each one goes to renumber them

IC:"This tea, it was, well, borrowed indefinitely from the Indians a long time ago, we now grow it in Saskatchewan, I am sure if you contacted the company that makes it they would be happy to begin exports, I hear they are looking to expand into foreign markets." smiled the Premier, who sipped some water before continuing.
"Now then, as for free emergency telephones, that was the plan, we currently operate a system on our major motorways of a phone every 1km, linking directly to the Police, with numbered markers every 50metres, in this was any accident can be located by the numbered marker, which also happens to indicate the way to the nearest phone. As for rerouting an upgrading existing roads, as well as extending in some areas, this would decrease costs in the long term, since these roads will already have a maintaince budget, which would require very little extra to cover the costs of a larger road.
We agree with the cities coving the budget for the road maintance, normally for roads in Celtayoshi the local council will pay for them, in most case this will be the nearest city, but in some areas large rural councils will pay for it, in any case government subsidies will be made available to ease the financial burden in the beginning.
Now, we have serious concerns about the possibility of unwanted persons entering across this border, we feel it is important to keep traffic flowing smoothly over the border, but we are worried about the possibility of Russian terrorists using it as a backdoor into Celtayoshi. We therefore propose that a full and valid driver licence of either Rome or Celtayoshi, complete with photographic identification be provided, if the driver licence does not contain a photograph a passport or National identity Card must be presented as well. We also hope that you will agree to extradite any Celtayoshi citizen seeking refuge from the law in Rome back to Celtayoshi, we shall of course do the same with any crinmal seeking refuge in Celtayoshi from Roman law. We also believe that any known fugitives attempting to cross the border in either direction of either nation be held under temporary arrest until security forces arrive to formally arrest said fugitive." The Premier looked up, he was aware that such measures could seem overly harsh to some nations, as they had done in the past, "The problem in Celtayoshi is that we are very concerned about removing all froms of crime, and this road presents an excellent oppertunity for crinimals to flee the country, which may encourage other law-breakers, what do you think Emperor?"

OOC: They are all the same, since I don't know enough about where each one goes to renumber them.

OOC: Okay, good. I know where most of them are and how they're routed (though, believe it or not, I can't drive). For the purposes of this thread, we'll use the pre-1997 routes, because now the provincial highways are pretty messed up from all the 1997 changes.

IC: "Well then, I think I will contact the tea company. Us Romans will love it," said Hartian.

"Border issues- we agree with your concerns, and I think that we should make sure that everyone who crosses it has valid photo identification. Our only issue is that Rome is open to tourists, so we feel that restricting Yonge to only Romans and Celtayoshians would be wrong. However, we do propose that we institute a third driver's license card for tourists to use while on Yonge, complete with limitations and checks so as to best prevent known fugitives and terrorists from obtaining access. Extradition laws should be no problem- known fugitives in Roman land will be speedily extradited back to Celtayoshi, post-haste."

"Most excellent, and yes, we too like to keep our land open to tourists, its all one big juggling act, I feel people never truely grasp the magnitude of what we do. Perhaps if we create at least five lanes at the border, one can be for buses to stop and have documents of passangers checked, three for Rome/Celtayoshian nationals, or holders of Rome/Celtayoshian drivers licences and a fifth for foreign nationals, maybe if they completed a departure card, and had a properly stamped passport that would suffice. After all, every country should want to show of its great wonders to the world around it.
We also have the issue of the termination of the route, do you want it to end in Celtayoshi territory at St Johns, or have it sweep North? We are prepared to end it at St Johns, and construct a major trunk road up to the Layarteb border." The Premier seemed delighted at the progress, he had been concerned that security may prove a sticky point, but he so far needn't have worried.

"Most excellent, and yes, we too like to keep our land open to tourists, its all one big juggling act, I feel people never truely grasp the magnitude of what we do. Perhaps if we create at least five lanes at the border, one can be for buses to stop and have documents of passangers checked, three for Rome/Celtayoshian nationals, or holders of Rome/Celtayoshian drivers licences and a fifth for foreign nationals, maybe if they completed a departure card, and had a properly stamped passport that would suffice. After all, every country should want to show of its great wonders to the world around it.
We also have the issue of the termination of the route, do you want it to end in Celtayoshi territory at St Johns, or have it sweep North? We are prepared to end it at St Johns, and construct a major trunk road up to the Layarteb border." The Premier seemed delighted at the progress, he had been concerned that security may prove a sticky point, but he so far needn't have worried.

OOC: You have Saint John's? Because the claim list doesn't say that you have Newfoundland Island.

IC: Hartian smiled when Nemeth mentioned the juggling act. "Yeah, I know how it feels. All us leaders get are complaints, and I always think whenever I hear them, 'do you think you can run the Empire better than me?'." He smiled again, then continued. "Anyway, we envisioned the route as completely mainland route, connecting Vancouver to Sydney, though if you desire the route to connect to the Layartebian border then we have no problem with that. We just need to work out the ferry issue. We want a year-round system with a user fee. As far as the lanes go, we see no problem with it, except that we need to decide where the border patrol will be located, as our border is right on the mountains."

OOC: My mistake, I was looking at the Canada map, and misinterpreted it. Syndey is fine.

"Yes, I undertsand the problem with the border. What about using the route of Yellowhead Pass. Currently used by Highway 16 through Jasper National Park it can provide us with a flat piece of land which, given enough engineering, should be suitable to use. This means the road will pass through Edmonton. Alternatively the road could go south, through Calgary and passing near Banff and Lake Louise?
The ferry issue should not be a problem, we think it would be best to award ferry contracts on five year deals, under the terms that the ferry must have a flate rate year round, be suitable for lorries, cars, vans, buses and motorbikes as well as foot passengers." The Premier then called for some food to be brought in, just a light snack. An orderly came in with a choice of chocolate or blueberry muffin, or a danish, as well as offering the Emperor a refill on his tea, or if he preferred, coffee. The Premier himself took tea and a blueberry muffin, he was always hungry at this stage of the morning.

OOC: My mistake, I was looking at the Canada map, and misinterpreted it. Syndey is fine.

"Yes, I undertsand the problem with the border. What about using the route of Yellowhead Pass. Currently used by Highway 16 through Jasper National Park it can provide us with a flat piece of land which, given enough engineering, should be suitable to use. This means the road will pass through Edmonton. Alternatively the road could go south, through Calgary and passing near Banff and Lake Louise?
The ferry issue should not be a problem, we think it would be best to award ferry contracts on five year deals, under the terms that the ferry must have a flate rate year round, be suitable for lorries, cars, vans, buses and motorbikes as well as foot passengers." The Premier then called for some food to be brought in, just a light snack. An orderly came in with a choice of chocolate or blueberry muffin, or a danish, as well as offering the Emperor a refill on his tea, or if he preferred, coffee. The Premier himself took tea and a blueberry muffin, he was always hungry at this stage of the morning.

"More tea please," said Hartian to the server. He, like most Romans, were coffee drinkers, but he couldn't get enough of this tea.

"I see the dilemma. Edmonton and Calgary are both important cities and we can't really snub either." Hartian took another sip of his tea. "I think we should use Yellowhead Pass and take the route through Edmonton but south along Alberta Highway 2 to Calgary. From there it can take Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba Highway 1 through Winnipeg to Ontario Highway 17, where it connects to Highway 11 and thus the original Yonge Street."

"This will of course add considerable time onto the total journey, but then again, taken as a percentage of the total route, it is barely significant. We shall do this then.
Now then, I believe in our communications by telegram I mentioned to you that we planned to use Tolling on this route. The reason for this is that petrol tax in Celtayoshi is very high, with prices fixed at 1CYSC, or roughly $1.7 a litre Obviously there will be need for petrol on this route, but we don't want to disadvantage Roman truckers seeking to export into Celtayoshi, who will have to pay higher fuel prices than normal. Therefore we propose that along this route petrol prices be set by the Rome petrol tax rate, thus reducing the petrol price, however, to prevent car owners in Celtayoshi getting cheaper petrol, we propose a toll station set along the entrances and exits to the route, with prices being $5 for a car to get on, and $5 to get off again, for vans or cars with trailers including caravans, a price of $6 on and $5 to get off the road, and for lorries $7.50 to get on, and $5 to get off again. What are your views on this Emperor?" concluded the Premier

OOC: Do you toll all roads in Celtayoshi or just the major ones?

"What we propose is that there be 'special circumstances' for which a toll can be waived, such as for cross-border business (i.e. trucking). What we'd need in such cases is an identification card of the business in question and proof that the order is going across the border. Tolls for 'luxury travel' is not a problem for us, but we feel that inconveniencing 'necessary travel' could adversely affect both of our nations."

OOC: We don't toll, we just hike up petrol prices, and tax the hell out of them that way.... Needless to say it encourages public transport. But to keep petrol prices down on this road, we want to toll.

IC: "This could work, it would a lot of hastle to apply in advance, but what about a special trucking lane at the toll stations. This way they don't have to hand over any money, and can quickly go through. If they pass over the border, when they leave the road the ticket is taken off them, and they don't have to pay. If they leave before the border, they have to pay. Cars have to pay anyway, and public transport, cross border or not, also does not have to pay?"

OOC: We don't toll, we just hike up petrol prices, and tax the hell out of them that way.... Needless to say it encourages public transport. But to keep petrol prices down on this road, we want to toll.

IC: "This could work, it would a lot of hastle to apply in advance, but what about a special trucking lane at the toll stations. This way they don't have to hand over any money, and can quickly go through. If they pass over the border, when they leave the road the ticket is taken off them, and they don't have to pay. If they leave before the border, they have to pay. Cars have to pay anyway, and public transport, cross border or not, also does not have to pay?"

"A sixth lane?" Hartian paused. This could get complicated, but it could work. "I see no problem with your system. My only concern will be the construction of the six lanes, but it will be worth it."

Hartian smiled at the progress he and Premier Nemeth were making.

The Premier laughed, "Six, blimey but these do add up. I am sure it will be worth it, if only to keep things flowing smoothly. Now then, what else are we forgetting. Ah yes. Speed limits. What would be the Rome speed limit for the motorway sections of this road? In Celtayoshi we would normally permit 125kmph for cars, and for heavy goods vehicles it is 115kmph."

"In Rome, the speed limits are based on lanes." Hartian pulled out a pen and paper to draw a simple diagram of the Roman highway system:

"Six-lane highway":

|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
1...2..3..4..5...6

1 & 2- No speed limit at all.
3 & 4- Speed limit: 120 kmph
5 & 6 (the "exit" lanes)- Speed limit: 100 kmph

"The sixth lane is designated for any kind of truck or bus, and is thus restricted to those kinds of vehicles and any others that are exiting the highway.

"A three-lane highway works the same way, only that there's just one lane devoted to the different speeds as opposed to two. A fourth lane is almost always added for buses and trucks.

"Now, Yonge will have to be different, because of our differing speed laws, and the fact there will be buses. I suggest that we adopt a hybrid- your speed limits for the first four lanes and an autobahn-like system for the middle lanes."

The Premier now took some paper and a pen.

"Okay, so if I am reading it right (since he had to correct his lane numbering, as in Celtayoshi the middle lanes were numbered 6, and the exit/slip road was numbered 1) it should look like this:"

|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
.1..2..3..4...5..6

"With the folowing limits:

Lane six, used for exiting and buses, shall be 115kmph
Lane five, used for exiting, buses and trucks including long vehicles, 115kmph
Lane four, used for trucks including long vehicles, 115kmph
Lane three, used for trucks and cars towing trailers or caravans etc, 115kmph
Lane two, used for cars, no limit
Lane one, used for cars, no limit...

...and vehicles can use any lane, except passed what is designated here, so a car could use lanes 1-6, but a truck could only use lanes six to three, and a bus could only use lanes six and five, if you understand?

Perhaps it would be best if in mountainous areas we reduced the number of lanes to three and widened it approaching the border, then narrowing it again as you pass over the border, and then once on to more open ground widened it to six lanes. This way we can avoid having to reshape large areas of mountainous land to cope with a six lane supermotorway?"

OOC: This will be my last post for the next two weeks, I hope you can understand the system there, ask any questions you want, and I will answer them when I get back.

tag

The Premier now took some paper and a pen.

"Okay, so if I am reading it right (since he had to correct his lane numbering, as in Celtayoshi the middle lanes were numbered 6, and the exit/slip road was numbered 1) it should look like this:"

|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
|| || || || || ||
.1..2..3..4...5..6

"With the folowing limits:

Lane six, used for exiting and buses, shall be 115kmph
Lane five, used for exiting, buses and trucks including long vehicles, 115kmph
Lane four, used for trucks including long vehicles, 115kmph
Lane three, used for trucks and cars towing trailers or caravans etc, 115kmph
Lane two, used for cars, no limit
Lane one, used for cars, no limit...

...and vehicles can use any lane, except passed what is designated here, so a car could use lanes 1-6, but a truck could only use lanes six to three, and a bus could only use lanes six and five, if you understand?

Perhaps it would be best if in mountainous areas we reduced the number of lanes to three and widened it approaching the border, then narrowing it again as you pass over the border, and then once on to more open ground widened it to six lanes. This way we can avoid having to reshape large areas of mountainous land to cope with a six lane supermotorway?"

Hartian looked at Premier Nemeth's proposal and smiled. I like how much progress we're making. "I like your idea," said the Emperor, "so we'll use it.

One last point- will most of the highway be a controlled-access freeway or will there be parts where it will be a regular road? This is because in Ontario, as we already know, there already is a Yonge Street and it's a highly developed area already, so I'm not sure if the businesses would like us tearing them down so we can repave Yonge. So what I am thinking is that we use an already existing road- such as Ontario Highways 400 and 401- to act as an 'alternate' route for Yonge once it goes through Toronto. We can expand this so that we have several alternate routes when we arrive at cities so that motorists can access the 'downtown' or 'business' areas better. What do you think?"

OOC: Can you think of anything else we haven't covered? Because I think other than that we've covered everything.

The Premier pondered this thought for a moment, he felt the road should pass down Yonge St, but the problem with the businesses could get tricky. He would have to make a descision. "Well Emperor, perhaps we can compromise, say all traffic which will be terminating their journey in Toronto, or begining it there take the existing Younge St, with only minor ugrades needed, that is, minor in relation to the whole project. Any thru traffic should then continue on the exisiting highways, which will be properly incorperated into the Toronto Transit System. It may cause disruption for some business, but they will be forced to move, and will be adequately compensated, with a little extra to smooth the process, while the rest should remain as before."

OOC: Not much else, unless you want to talk about a grand opening ceremony...

The Premier pondered this thought for a moment, he felt the road should pass down Yonge St, but the problem with the businesses could get tricky. He would have to make a descision. "Well Emperor, perhaps we can compromise, say all traffic which will be terminating their journey in Toronto, or begining it there take the existing Younge St, with only minor ugrades needed, that is, minor in relation to the whole project. Any thru traffic should then continue on the exisiting highways, which will be properly incorperated into the Toronto Transit System. It may cause disruption for some business, but they will be forced to move, and will be adequately compensated, with a little extra to smooth the process, while the rest should remain as before."

OOC: Not much else, unless you want to talk about a grand opening ceremony...

OOC: I'm all for the party now! :D

"I still think we'll need posted bypasses so that those who don't want to go through downtown Toronto don't have to," said the Emperor, "but, since this is in your jurisdiction and not mine, I'll leave the final decision on that matter to you."

The Emperor then smiled. "Well, I think that covers the meat and potatoes of it. I think that once the project is done we should have a grand opening ceremony- announce to the world our new tourism bonanza. We'll help put it on- us Romans invented celebratitions you know." When he finished, he let out a huge grin, happy at the progress the two countries had made.

"Don't worry, it will be clearly marked, and we shall pay some civilians to drive unfamilar sections just to see how clear, and to suggest improvements. I believe that concludes everything. I will get my secretarial staff to draw up a draft proposal, which I will be forwarded to you, and then we can sign it. Now then, we must have a grand celebration indeed, together we will have the longest road in the world, this is something to be proud of. Have you any suggestions?" The Premier also motioned for refreshments to be brought in, and a menu for the Emperor to select some lunch from the Kitchen.

The Emperor spoke without hesitation:

"For the celebration:

(1) We declare it a national holiday the day we actually open the Street.

(2) We sell it as a land-based 'cruise', where a bus will travel the length of the street and stop in each major centre for the tourists to get off and do some exploring.

(3) We'll also have various events and stores 'themed' to the culture of the city the cruise is venturing towards, on the day the cruise arrives. This way the tourists can also see the splendour that is Canada while traversing the Street.

(4) The two of us will be present at the beginning and end of the cruise, if not actually attending the entire cruise.

What do you think?" The Emperor then motioned the server so he can order steak.

"That sounds excellent, of course, we would have to give a small speech, protocol these days isn't it. We could also have big parades and concerts at the start and finish, and at all the major cities in between, using local cultural songs, as well as modern music.
We must also do our best to ensure this road is not an eyesore, even if it means nice floral arrangements, and lots of green trees, along with pleasn't bridges and tunnels, as opposed to hideous concrete structures.

"That sounds excellent, of course, we would have to give a small speech, protocol these days isn't it. We could also have big parades and concerts at the start and finish, and at all the major cities in between, using local cultural songs, as well as modern music.
We must also do our best to ensure this road is not an eyesore, even if it means nice floral arrangements, and lots of green trees, along with pleasn't bridges and tunnels, as opposed to hideous concrete structures.

OOC: *thumbs up* I wish Ontario did that with their real highways...

IC: "Heh, protocol...minor nuisance given what we have to do day in day out," said the Emperor with a laugh.

"Anyway, I agree with you on all accounts- Yonge Street must look beautiful. I also like the idea of a parade- maybe we can stage a Triumph at the end of the trip? Because I think that would be fitting."

"Right then, I suppose that concludes that for now, unless you have anything further to add I believe lunch is ready. After that we can do a handshake for the cameras?"

"Right then, I suppose that concludes that for now, unless you have anything further to add I believe lunch is ready. After that we can do a handshake for the cameras?"

"Of course," said the Emperor as the two went for lunch.

OOC: Do you want to use this thread or another to officially open up the Street? Also, I would like to discuss the terms of the alliance (if you still want to pursue that- and I do because it's uncanny how much we agree on things :) ) in this thread or another one.

OOC: Yes, we can use this thread here for the openening of the street, and for discussions about an alliance.

IC: After lunch the two leaders seperated for an hour of relaxation. Premier Németh returned to the Premier Office to discuss some important domestic issues, and get an update on what was happening within the lands of Celtayoshi. The Emperor Hartian decided to go back to his room and catch up on the news in Rome, before taking a walk round the gardens of Celtayoshi House, a massive sprawling area that combined Imperial heritage and modern technology to form the grounds of the Premier's residence.
At about 1500 the two leaders met again and briefly discussed how they would tackle this photo shoot. It was decided that they would answer a few questions only, leaving it to others to answer other questions upon the signing of the document.
When they went outside they saw that two podiums had been setup just down the steps. When they ot down the Premier and Emperor shook hands for the cameras, before moving to their respective podiums.
The Premier spook first, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I take great pride in announcing that we have agreed an historic deal to construct the worlds longest road, stretching from Vancouver in the West to Sydney in the East. It will be one of mans great achievements, with regular rest stops along the route, some of the most spectacular scenery on this beautiful planet, and a bus serivce running along its route. We also hope to construct a railway line running along close to this road. Emperor, do you have anything to say, and then we will take a few questions."

OOC: I had a thought: if you really want to impress the Emperor, you could have the crowd that eventually greets us do the Roman salute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_salute), to show a sign of respect to the Roman people. I should mention that it's not the same as the one Hitler used- his was always held at either a 45 or 90 degree angle, whereas the Roman version could be held at any angle. Also, technically speaking, in our Earth, the Hitler salute would probably be different (if it doesn't exist at all) because in our version, Rome didn't fall and would still maintain the salute, so I'm not sure if it would ever be "copied".

If you don't think it'd be appropriate then we won't do it.

IC:

The Roman Emperor took to the podium as Premier Nemeth finished.

"Thank you Premier," started Hartian. "The street will be named 'Yonge Street' after the famous street located in Toronto, and will assume much of the length of the old Trans-Canada Highway. I would also like to say it was a pleasure to work with the Premier, as it was amazing how much we agreed upon everything and how much we accomplished. I look forward to working with this fine gentleman in the future."

With that said, the Premier and and the Emperor now took questions.

(Should we post the Q&A or skip it? I'm thinking if we do have Q&A we can have the other Earth II nations ask us questions about the road).

OOC: Hey, thats an idea, nice thinking, do you want to put it in the E2 thread asking for questions, or will I.

Would the Pan-American Highway from the U.S. to Brazil be longer than Yonge Street? Or is it technically not a street?

Kreynoria']Would the Pan-American Highway from the U.S. to Brazil be longer than Yonge Street? Or is it technically not a street?

The Emperor pondered the question for a moment before wording his answer:

"The difference between the Pan-American Highway and Yonge Street is that the Pan-Am is simply a connection of freeways and technically not a street, while Yonge Street will be one continuous road that will pass through Canada's major centres and will be designed like a street, with lots of landmarks and foilage. It shall also have a continuous bus service and a rail service next to the road. This will not be your ordinary thru route.

Premier, do you have anything to add?"

"No, except that we won't know the total length og Yonge Street until the Engineers report is provided and has been checked over. Any other questions?"