A retired View Royal machinist and a Saanich economist want the Ministry of Highways to give serious consideration to another plan for solving the commuter traffic tie-ups for which the intersection at Trans-Canada Highway and McKenzie Avenue/Admirals Road has long been blamed.
Dick Faulks, a View Royal resident and treasurer for sustainable growth advocate Island Transformations, says the province needs to plan now to include accommodations for light rail in any changed configuration for the intersection, which the province is budgeting roughly $85 million.
B次元官网网址淚 just want the ministry to spend less money, take up less land and make preparation for regional rail,B次元官网网址� he said.
Previous surveys and think tanks looking at future growth in the area have placed a regional rail system as a priority and a good long-term solution to our transportation challenges, he said.
FaulksB次元官网网址� take on the three options that have been presented to the public for possible adoption is that they are actually only one option, with three slightly different designs. He said itB次元官网网址檚 possible to spend far less money and at the same time, create infrastructure that looks to the future.
B次元官网网址淲e must prepare for the installation of rail,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 where B次元官网网址� if people in our highways department would look forward and see that B次元官网网址� we should be going.B次元官网网址�
Faulks, 84, has been a booster of commuter rail for decades. With that in mind, he said the three options attempt to B次元官网网址渟olve an intersection with a superhighway.B次元官网网址�
No definitive costing has been projected for the alternative proposal being promoted by Faulks and Rob Wickson, the founder of Island Transformations and current president of the Gorge-Tillicum Community Association. However, it sees some significant changes to the flyover and modified cloverleaf scenarios now being analyzed.
Among them are the presence of a tunnel on the outbound side of the TCH, which would run under the a bridge connecting the highway and Admirals with McKenzie. It would cover two non-stop lanes heading toward the West Shore and also provide space for a rail stop running parallel between the roadway and the Galloping Goose Trail. Wickson said until the region has commuter rail, the tunnel area could be used as a dedicated bus exchange.
The proposal calls for inbound traffic, going straight or turning left, to still be subject to a light.
But with outbound highway traffic not a factor, vehicles turning left onto McKenzie B次元官网网址� over 10,000 a day B次元官网网址� would only be stopped when traffic coming from Admirals Road had a green light, thus improving flow and easing congestion on the commute into Victoria from the West Shore and points north.
Wickson, for his part, is equally interested in the future of his neighbourhood. He calls the Admirals and McKenzie/TCH intersection B次元官网网址渢he entryway to the urban environmentB次元官网网址� of Greater Victoria and as such, creating a high-speed section of roadway leading to another urban intersection at Tillicum Road simply doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense.
B次元官网网址淭his is such an important intersection for Greater Victoria, not Saanich or Victoria but everyone,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got to look at this much more carefully, and away from just the transportation point of view. We canB次元官网网址檛 just look at this as a place for vehicles to move through, but look at it as a place that involves pedestrians, cyclists and a neighbourhood.B次元官网网址�
Faulks and Wickson said theyB次元官网网址檝e had conversations with Ministry of Transportation officials on the matter, through the public consultation process last fall and otherwise.
In an emailed statement, a Ministry spokeswoman wrote that staff have been meeting with community associations since mid-October and that process continues.
B次元官网网址淒esign suggestions and other considerations are part of that consultation process and we welcome input from all stakeholders, including suggestions from the Gorge-Tillicum residents association,B次元官网网址� she wrote.
The province is not only keeping the objectives of safety, efficiency and reliability in mind with regard to public input received and technical and financial information gained, she stated, B次元官网网址淥ther important considerations are how to accommodate transit, pedestrians and cyclists, and future population growth.B次元官网网址�
Wickson said heB次元官网网址檒l push for a different approach to solving the regionB次元官网网址檚 worst traffic challenge, even if that means taking the province to court to force it to look at other options.
As he has for years in general, Faulks plans to keep banging the drum for rail when it comes to the redesign of the intersection. He holds out hope that by keeping this B次元官网网址渙ther optionB次元官网网址� in the spotlight, public opinion will force the province to take a step back and revisit its alternatives for the project.
B次元官网网址淚t is frustrating, but I canB次元官网网址檛 give up,B次元官网网址� he said, B次元官网网址渂ecause logic says if we want to save money, you have to do the best thing and look to the future.B次元官网网址�
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
