Transportation is something thatB次元官网网址檚 has long been a hot-button issue for West Shore residents.

From the 9 to 5 office worker in VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 downtown to the UVic student and just about everyone in between, residents crave an efficient network of roads, buses and bike paths B次元官网网址� and possible other modes of transportation B次元官网网址� on which to get from point A to point B.

When I decided to move to the region last summer, the Colwood Crawl was one of the first things I learned about my soon-to-be-home. Having grown up in Montreal and later Toronto B次元官网网址� and later two years in South Korea - I just assumed that folks in B次元官网网址渟mall-townB次元官网网址� Victoria didnB次元官网网址檛 know what a real traffic jam looked like.

I was wrong. While the Crawl might pale in comparison to traffic jams in Toronto B次元官网网址� ever try to drive out of T.O. on a Friday afternoon? B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 still a legitimate concern thatB次元官网网址檚 forcing commuters to spend an unreasonable amount of time stuck in gridlock.

Public transportation has been a somewhat peculiar passion of mine ever since I moved to Seoul. If youB次元官网网址檙e so inclined, Google B次元官网网址淪eoul Subway map,B次元官网网址� I promise youB次元官网网址檒l be in awe.

IB次元官网网址檓 certainly not saying a city with a metro population of 25 million should be used as an example here, but having seen what a world-class system looks like it got me wondering what problems exist that are causing these transportation woes.

With that, I set out to find out what challenges are facing West Shore commuters, what could alleviate those challenges and what our elected officials envision for the future. The Crawl might be an annoyance now, but with the West Shore B次元官网网址� Langford and Colwood in particular B次元官网网址� slated to see continued fast growth, itB次元官网网址檚 likely to get worse if steps arenB次元官网网址檛 taken soon to make transportation quicker and more convenient.

Our upcoming series, West Shore: On the Go, will be broken into three parts and feature interviews with West Shore commuters, BC Transit staff and elected officials.

All of our contacts seemed to recognize that the current network needs improvements if itB次元官网网址檚 going to meet the demand from one of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 fastest-growing regions.

joel.tansey@goldstream

gazette.com