“The daily commute”: a common phrase in modern times. More often than not it means hours spent stuck in traffic in the car. For the commuters who drive in and out of Victoria, this is certainly the case.
The possible solutions to the problem have been “in the works” for 30 years. Finally, there seems to be some headway, and construction of an $85-million interchange at Saanich’s McKenzie Avenue and Trans-Canada Highway intersection is expected to begin in late 2016.
Yes, yes, lots of hand-shaking and nodding and smiling at this, but wait a minute… This project has been talked about for 30 years, and in that time, the world has changed. Thirty years ago, we didn’t have the irrefutable evidence we have today that greenhouse-gas emissions are harming our home. Today—as Canada is painfully aware, having won the Fossil Award at UN climate talks several times due to our lack of progress in regard to climate change—focus needs to be on public transportation and the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Why is our city going ahead with a plan that was concocted with none of those goals in mind? Our city builders and planners should have more foresight into the future than they are currently demonstrating. The areas surrounding Greater Victoria are growing and will continue to grow, and, quite frankly, the so-called “solution” to the bottleneck will only distribute the sheer volume of cars over a larger network of residential roads and will do nothing to encourage alternative transportation.
A high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane would. All the city needs to do is add some signs and a little more paint to the road. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper than installing an overpass, not to mention the estimated two-year completion window on construction, which, as we all know, will make traffic matters even worse than they already are.
Many cities have successfully integrated HOV lanes into their highways, so we know they work. They encourage carpooling and public-transit use and ensure that those who make an effort to reduce their carbon footprint are rewarded with a speedier commute.
I expect our local elected leaders to make decisions on infrastructure that are in line with Canada’s goal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. I don’t see any attempt to reduce emissions in this dated construction plan, which would only enable a larger number of cars to move in and out of Victoria.
The good old standard of infrastructure planning is no longer good; it’s just old. We need to change how we think about our world, and the best way to do that is to help people make good choices for our environment. So, ride the bus, carpool, or cycle, and demand that this city take climate change seriously.
If we want to get serious about fighting climate change, then perhaps we should start rethinking the idea that nearly every person in British Columbia requires their own automobile. Instead of commuting out of town for work, people should just find a job close to where they live. Another thing that is completely unnecessary is recreational travel. Why do people need to go see British Columbia’s beautiful yet difficult-to-access scenery? They should just stay home and watch Netflix on their XBOX.
Thirty years ago, urban planners had irrefutable evidence that building bigger roads doesn’t solve traffic issues… It just brings more development and more cars, resulting in more traffic problems. Many people today still won’t accept this fact. Even setting aside the environmental argument doesn’t justify throwing away a hundred million dollars of taxpayer’s money on an overpass.
car pooling and hov and all the good intentions in the world will not improve an already horrible commute. Those of us who work for a living versus making a living all need transit with our own vehicles. And the western community is where the workers live. They will double and triple with time and an interchange is therefore necessary…..