A prominent defender of Cuthbert Holmes Park does not oppose provincial plans for a highway berm in principle, but questions the current proposal.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 like their plans for the berm,B次元官网网址� said Julian Anderson, lead steward for the Friends of Cuthbert Holmes Park. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not against the berm in principle. I think it has potential to buffer the sights and sounds of the highway. But IB次元官网网址檓 not crazy about their plans as first proposed and I would like to see them negotiate something smaller and more appropriate for the park.B次元官网网址�

Anderson made those comments while on a tour through parts of Cuthbert Holmes Park, where it bumps against the McKenzie interchange project. It is an $85 million project by the provincial government to ease congestion at the intersection of McKenzie Avenue and Highway 1 through a partial B次元官网网址榗loverleafB次元官网网址� ramp system that also includes features designed to benefit cyclists and transit riders. Construction started in the fall of 2016 and the project is scheduled to be complete by late 2018.

The project has generated considerable controversy from its start. Groups representing community and environmental interests have joined area politicians to express concerns about the environmental and social effects of the project.

Following the start of construction, the provincial government announced the addition of a 500-metre long highway berm running north-south on the western side of Highway 1. It will begin just south of Admirals Road, terminating north of Tilicum Road. Half of the berm will run parallel to the Colquitz River.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure plans to build the berm out of soil that constructions crews are currently excavating to lower the highway. The ministry said in a presentation this March that the berm will cut transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions, while

AndersonB次元官网网址檚 specific concerns include, among others, the height of the berm. Its southern end will be 14 metres above the existing ground level or 11 metres above the highway.

B次元官网网址淚 think that is just a little bit too big,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he slopes will be very steep and it will be tough to maintain. You canB次元官网网址檛 get a mower on to [take out] the invasive [plant] species that will no doubt pop up.B次元官网网址�

The greater the slope, the less stable the berm would be, a concern given its proximity to the Colquitz River, a salmon-bearing river, he said. It would also be more difficult to stop the spread of evasive plant species from the berm into the park, he said.

Anderson raised some of these concerns last week in a presentation to Saanich council, which will have to sign off on ministry plans. He said during his presentation that the ministryB次元官网网址檚 efforts to stabilize the slope by planting vegetation are insufficient.

B次元官网网址淭hey have proposed 160 plants for this berm, which is 500 metres in length. That is less than one plant for three linear metres, so that is woefully inadequate for the task at hand.B次元官网网址�

Anderson said the ministry also lacks an effective invasive plant management plan.

B次元官网网址淭hey apparently will be expecting Saanich to deal with this, because they had told me that their evasive species management [plan] will end once the project is completed,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he unfortunate thing is that is exactly where the problems start, and invasive species thrive on disturbed soil.B次元官网网址�

Mayor Richard Atwell and the rest of the council received the report. B次元官网网址淚t is not painting a very rosy picture,B次元官网网址� he said.

Janelle Erwin, Ministry of Transportation deputy director, south coast region, said in an earlier interview that the design for the berm is not yet final and several aspects of the proposal may change. The management of invasive species on the berm also remains open for negotiations. While the province will not look after the berm in B次元官网网址減erpetuity,B次元官网网址� several ways exist for the provincial government to participate, she said.

Anderson appeared to reserve final judgment about some of these claims during SundayB次元官网网址檚 tour in reiterating concerns about the ministryB次元官网网址檚 performance so far.

He specifically pointed to the ministryB次元官网网址檚 initial failure to acknowledge that part of the project had violated a 30-metre buffer.

B次元官网网址淎t the cloverleaf, they promised a 30-metre buffer between the project footprint and the [Colquitz River] and after several denials, they admitted that they have encroached on that buffer, but they are still minimizing their responsibility for that and the size of the encroachment,B次元官网网址� he said.

While the ministry B次元官网网址渢alks the talk,B次元官网网址� their follow-up is lacking, he said. B次元官网网址淪o when it comes to berm that they are proposing, I donB次元官网网址檛 know how we can take them at their word.B次元官网网址�

In an earlier interview, Erwin confirmed a B次元官网网址渟mall area of overlapB次元官网网址� between the buffer and the project at its southern end. The ministry has since hired a third-party consultant to develop a plan for additional enhancements to the affected riperian area, a Colquitz River tributary, said Erwin.