West Shore commuting could look very different in 2018.
An open house in Saanich on Tuesday saw the public get their first look at three proposals for an interchange on the corner of the Trans-Canada Highway and McKenzie Avenue, a project aimed at mitigating traffic congestion including the Colwood Crawl.
Colwood Coun. Rob Martin said he was B次元官网网址�100-per-cent supportiveB次元官网网址� of the interchange moving forward, but cautioned the public to look at the three options with an eye not only for now, but for the future.
B次元官网网址淟ets get it right. If we are going to do something different down the road, it will cost us so much more than if we spend the money up front,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 we have to figure out what is best long term. Once Royal Bay comes online and we have 2,000 to 5,000 more commuters, are we going to end up in gridlock? ItB次元官网网址檚 tolerable right now, but looking down the road, especially with developing growth in (the West Shore) how do we sustain this long term?B次元官网网址�
Ministry of Transportation district manager Janelle Erwin called the project B次元官网网址渁bsolutely important.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e feel solving our congestion problems at this intersection is going to have a huge impact not only on local residents B次元官网网址� (but those) up and down the Island.
Options one and three includes a smaller diamond-shaped interchange Erwin said would be less expensive than option two, which features a partial cloverleaf design aspect that requires a larger footprint. All three designs eliminate the traffic light for north-south highway traffic, have traffic signals on either side of the highway at Mckenzie and Admirals Road, and feature a grade separation for the Galloping Goose Trail, which would no longer cross McKenzie Avenue. The cloverleaf option would also eliminate the need for southbound traffic turning left on Mckenzie to hit a traffic light.
A ministry count determined that 610 visitors dropped in to check out the open house on the $85-million project. Erwin couldnB次元官网网址檛 go into detail on empirical figures, but said the increase in safety and the reduction in congestion through the corridor would be B次元官网网址渄ramatic.B次元官网网址�
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell wondered what the effect of the interchange would have elsewhere in his municipality, including the intersection of McKenzie and Burnside Road, and the busy highway intersection at Tillicum Road.
B次元官网网址淲e could end up with the same issue (as other interchanges), which is the highway traffic flows through but we end up having long lineups of traffic trying to get to the highway in Saanich,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淭illicum is another version of this. At what point do we end up with a freeway? I donB次元官网网址檛 know.B次元官网网址�
Erwin said northbound traffic to the West Shore from Tillicum Road could actually be faster, with traffic queues at the current McKenzie light already stopping commuters as far back as Tillicum Road already.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to deliver about the same (amount of traffic) that is delivered today to Tillicum Road. WeB次元官网网址檙e not seeing that anything is going to change dramatically there,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e are confident that once we implement the improvements at this intersection, weB次元官网网址檙e going to help draw some of that shortcutting traffic on municipal roads back onto the highway, because theyB次元官网网址檙e going to realize the highway will be a safe and efficient way to travel.B次元官网网址�
Ground is expected to be broken on the interchange project in 2016, with completion planned for 2018.
For more information on the proposal go to www.engage.gov.bc.ca/mckenzieinterchange.
alim@goldstreamgazette.com
