Regional transportation authority needed
The Capital Regional District is borrowing $53.5 million, which if amortized over the stated 15 years comes to about $75 million to put bike lanes and street lights on a trail.
An average of 50,000 vehicles a day use the Pat Bay Highway, many crawling through kilometres-long backups, waiting through two to six (one time eight) traffic light changes in at least four places.
Stop, start, idling repeatedly, burning fuel and people’s time, polluting the atmosphere. No hope for a fast-bus service there.
There are higher priorities for transportation infrastructure than trails. Perhaps senior governments will not want to be seen funding daft initiatives dreamed up by groups of hobby politicians who were endorsed by perhaps half of the one-third of the electorate that showed up to vote in municipal elections.
Are there not more pressing needs for that money?
Part of a solution to traffic and parking issues is frequent, efficient, regional rapid transit buses. Inhibiting transit by compromising arterial roads with bike lanes makes no sense.
There are parallel secondary streets everywhere. Why aren’t bike lanes there? Drivers and riders would be much safer and happier if they interacted less.
If municipal amalgamation is not on, then we need some form of regional transportation authority. The key word there being “authority.”
Perhaps authority leaders could be directly elected as a sidebar at provincial elections, where at least a majority of voters are already in the room.
They should certainly not be people seconded from the “winners” of our fundamentally flawed municipal council elections. They are the authors of our state of traffic dysfunction in the CRD.
Ray Morgan
Saanich
What is the cost of moving the mountains?
Re: “Belleville terminal case raises many questions,” letter, Aug. 11.
I was excited to see the concept drawing for the new Belleville Ferry Terminal.
I realize that the letter-writer has concerns about the cost, but does he realize that not only will we get a new ferry terminal, but a greatly enhanced view from the Inner Harbour?
The concept drawing shows a lovely range of snowy mountains looking north from Belleville Street.
While I greatly appreciate the intentions of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, however, I have to wonder whether the $303.9-million cost includes the cost of replacing the Songhees development with these lovely mountains, or is that an additional cost?
Trevor Hancock
Victoria
Missing on the mark on vehicle usage
Re: “CRD OKs $53.5M to widen and light busiest parts of Galloping Goose and Lochside,” Aug. 10.
The decision to proceed with widening these busy regional trails is a good one. However, the need to borrow reflects chronic delays in implementing regional, provincial, and federal climate policies.
In 2021, Greater Victoria Acting Together asked the Capital Regional District to prioritize public transit, walking, rolling and cycling over highway expansion. And they voted unanimously to do so.
However, instead of strong advocacy to pressure the provincial and federal governments to prioritize low-carbon transportation the CRD apparently sat on their hands.
That same year, the province set a target to reduce automobile vehicle kilometres travelled 25 per cent by 2030 but has not yet put a moratorium on highway expansion. The federal government pledged to shift spending from highway expansion to public transit and other low-carbon transport in 2016 but has also dragged its feet.
As a result of these delays, the provincial and federal governments have funded the $77-million Keating flyover boondoggle instead of climate action measures like these regional trail improvements. (An inexpensive traffic light would alleviate safety concerns at Keating).
The death toll from the devastating wildfire on Maui shows that climate delay can’t be tolerated anymore. Will CRD board members now lean on the provincial and federal governments to put their money where their mouths are, or continue to choose climate delay?
Eric Doherty and Jane Welton
Climate Justice Team Co-leads
Greater Victoria Acting Together
Thanks to strangers after a bike accident
This letter is a shout out to kind people — and to bike helmets. On July 22 I had a bicycle accident on Cook Street. Luckily, no car was involved.
But my head crashed on the pavement, and without a helmet, I for sure would not be able to write this.
I’m extremely grateful that so many people rushed to help — at least eight, as far as I remember. Among them a nurse, a couple and a man who diverted traffic.
A man, who witnessed everything, ran to the crash scene, checked my vitals, comforted me, and stayed until the ambulance arrived.
A few days later, he even reached out to see how I was doing and to fill some gaps in my memory.
But I don’t know who the other people were. Therefore, I can’t tell them in person how much I appreciate that they stepped up for me.
Whoever you are, you really made a difference, all of you. Thank you so much. A heartfelt thank you also to the paramedics and the doctors and nurses at the ER.
Wearing a helmet can make all the difference. They work. I will get a new one.
Claudia Frickel
Victoria
Redistribution plan is textbook communism
Re: “The great transformation we need must be socially just,” column, Aug. 13.
Imagine being so completely immersed in exclusively collectivist thought patterns, that the statement “[C]apitalism itself is a giant income redistribution scheme, transferring money from the poor to the rich” sounds reasonable.
That quote is factually incorrect — that’s not how capitalism works, that’s not how redistribution works, and that’s not how buying things works.
Socialist redistribution schemes operate under authoritarian force or threat of force, with no exchange. Pure capitalism is voluntary exchange of labour, money, goods and services.
People have come to North America with practically nothing and have become well-off or even wealthy — that’s literally the opposite of what the columnist thinks capitalism is.
Using the government to “redistribute” is textbook socialism/communism. To forbid someone from earning more than a set cutoff absolutely implies a Soviet-style dictatorship with absolute authoritarian control, hence multiple people coming to the reasonable conclusion that the columnist is a dyed-in-the-wool Communist, which he didn’t exactly deny.
The columnist must not have seen Looney Tunes/The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show wherever he grew up, or at least didn’t see, or forgot, the 1954 Looney Tunes short “By Word of Mouse.”
That’s the one where a German mouse visits his American cousin and learns all about capitalism. Or even the 1955 short “Heir Conditioned,” starring Elmer Fudd, who educates Sylvester on the benefits of investing.
April J. Gibson
Duncan
Beacon Hill is no place for a religious revival
Sunday, Aug. 13, was a beautiful, sunny day to go for a walk in Beacon Hill Park.
Hearing some pleasant tunes coming from the bandstand, I wandered over to give a listen.
How unpleasantly surprising to walk inadvertently into a Christian revival, right there on the bandstand.
The born-again testimonies boomed across the park through the PA system — offensive to those who come to the park to seek their non-denominational spiritual comfort in the wonderful natural setting.
The fact that most of the audience at the bandstand were lined up for what looked like a barbecued meal only underlined the appearance of a private gathering.
Nineteenth-century United States history may well have been filled with Christian revivals, but this kind of event should be very carefully weighed before repeating what several of us felt was akin to unwanted religious propaganda.
Living on the border of the park made the event inescapable.
Barbara Silvergold
Victoria
Overnight sailings would help B.C. Ferries
I have an idea: Why not run the ferries 24 hours, possible a couple of sailings from midnight until 6 a.m.?
The truckers could use the night sailings, thus freeing up the day trips for vacationers and those that need to travel for medical reasons etc.
Or even just a midnight sailing. I’ll bet there are lots of people that are the proverbial night hawks that would love to take advantage of night sailings.
Obviously the system we’re using now isn’t working so how about a little innovation and see how that works out?
Eleanor Wheeler
Victoria
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