Changes have been made on the West Shore this year, after all itB次元官网网址檚 the fast growing area in the region.

A big one this year was the opening of the Leigh Road interchange, June 15.

The opening of the interchange closed access from the Trans Canada Highway and Spencer Road. Now access to Goldstream Avenue is only possible from with Leigh or Millstream Road overpasses.

The interchange cost $25 million paid for primarily by five private developers on Bear Mountain and South Skirt Mountain. The province is also chipped in $4 million.

A long awaited change came in the spring as ground broke for the two new high schools on the West Shore.

The new Belmont secondary school is being built at the former site of Glen Lake elementary school and the Royal Bay secondary school is being build at Royal Bay, that was an operational gravel pit for 100 years.

B次元官网网址淭his is $50 million and it is 10 times more important than any interchange,B次元官网网址� said Mayor Stew Young at the groundbreaking, June 27.

The groundbreaking for the Colwood school was on Sept. 27 and included a visit from Tour de France cyclist Ryder Hesjedal whom the schoolB次元官网网址檚 road, Ryder Hesjedal Way, will be named after.

B次元官网网址淭his is what itB次元官网网址檚 all about,B次元官网网址� said Peter Fassbender, minister of education. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about the future of our young people, itB次元官网网址檚 about opening new doors of opportunity and providing facilities that will help them on their education journey.B次元官网网址�

Both schools are set to open in September 2016.

The City of Langford spent some time in 2013 enhancing two of its lakes with a new boat launch at Langford Lake as well as expanding the beach and playground area there. Glen Lake Beach Park was also created and gave a new home to the playground formerly at the Glen Lake elementary school.

Opportunities for West Shore youths expanded this year, including positions for at-risk youth partnering with Pacific Centre Services Association. The association opened Skookum Food and Coffee in December providing jobs and training for 10 youth from the community.

All of the youth employees of Skookum Coffee will be referred through the associationB次元官网网址檚 youth programs at the West Shore Child, Youth and Family Centre.

The Colwood Rotary playground at West Shore Parks and Recreation also broke ground, but fundraising is still ongoing to move onto Phase 2 of the project. As of now an area has been dug out, but the ground covering and playground equipment has yet to be added.

Capital City Centre in Colwood was earmarked for the largest development on Vancouver Island is at a standstill.

League Financial Partners, the group behind the Colwood development, filed for a CompaniesB次元官网网址� Creditors Arrangement Act, Oct. 18.

The application for creditor protection was extended to June 28, 2014. During that time League is selling some its assets, not including Capital City Centre.

Russ Cameron of Colwood Fire Rescue found retirement after 35.5 years of service, while the other four fire chiefs on the West Shore remain the same. Cameron was the cityB次元官网网址檚 longest serving fire chief and started out as a volunteer firefighter when he was 18 years old.

B次元官网网址淭his is my life and itB次元官网网址檚 been my career. IB次元官网网址檝e lived and breathed this for 24 hours a day for 35 years,B次元官网网址� said Cameron a few days before he retired Sept. 30.

Kerry Smith, ColwoodB次元官网网址檚 former deputy chief took over the role of Colwood fire chief and has worked at the department for 23 years.

The View Royal fire department will have some changes of its own in the year to come. The departmentB次元官网网址檚 new fire hallB次元官网网址檚 groundbreaking occurred on Aug. 15.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an exciting day for View Royal,B次元官网网址� said fire Chief Paul Hurst at the ceremony. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a culmination of many, many, many years of work and to have it finally come together and do a groundbreaking. WeB次元官网网址檙e on our way. IB次元官网网址檝e always waited for this day.B次元官网网址�

The project was slated for completion after 33 weeks and the department expects to move in April 2014.

The process to approve the fire hall project was not without controversy and hurdles. An initial loan request of $7.9 million was rejected by residents through an Alternative Approval Process in July 2012, forcing the referendum. The entire process produced some heated council debates and numerous letters to the B次元官网网址 Gazette arguing both for and against the expenditure.

Malahat improvements filled the summer months with barriers added along with some fencing to prevent rock slides from blocking the road or causing damage.

An $8 million upgrade that included barriers between north and south bound lanes was completed in the summer of 2013.

B次元官网网址淭his section of highway has seen too many accidents and weB次元官网网址檝e heard from first responders and residents about the need for continued improvements and thatB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檙e doing,B次元官网网址� said Christy Clark, in October during the seventh annual Vancouver Island Economic Alliance Summit.

Starting in 2014 another $145 million is slated to be put in the highway for more safety improvements. The work will include another 2.3 kilometres of median barriers north of Shawinigan Lake Road and a one-kilometre southbound passing lane extension and improvements to Whittaker Road and Holker Place intersections.