Editor’s note: Incorrect information attributed to Colin Plant appeared in the Nov. 5 edition of Saanich News. The News invited Plant to submit a letter to the editor to clarify his traffic policy. The News regrets the error.
I have knocked on nearly 10,000 doors since August asking residents what issues they would like to see addressed by the incoming Saanich Council. Two specific areas that are often mentioned by residents are the Trans Canada and McKenzie overpass and the Wilkinson/Interurban quagmire. The province and most of the region seem to finally understand that the bottleneck at McKenzie is a regional issue effecting more than just Saanich. And as long as we don’t end up with a “solution” like the McTavish fiasco, almost anything will be an improvement on the status quo.
The Wilkinson corridor solution is more complicated than I was quoted in the November 5th Saanich News. In that misquote, it was suggested that an advance left turn signal for ten additional seconds would solve it. Indeed, that solution was suggested for the Haliburton Road hill during peak hours.
To address Wilkinson, I would like to sit down with residents, engineers and the community association to once again try to find a way forward. The McKenzie overpass will help but it will not fix Wilkinson. Perhaps a roundabout?
Council will need to consult and then act in the next four years to actually make these improvements. We need to create shared roadways, reduce greenhouse gases and connect gaps in existing sidewalks and bike lanes.
Colin Plant
Saanich council candidate
