Just one more Malahat fatal accident, but who’s counting? No one is ever responsible, held accountable for lack of will, taking on the project as a cause. For sure not local politicians over the last 30 years or so.
No matter the political bent, they all nod their heads and apologize — but do nothing more, aside from waste our money on studies that never lead to a fix.
How many fender-benders, pileups and deaths have there been within the last five years, 10 or further back in the roadway’s disastrous rehabilitation history?
All those funds could have got the job done if anyone had the guts to take action. We’re not talking rocket science here. We are dealing with building a bridge or decent and handy bypass (not via Port Renfrew) to ease a disastrous situation. How many trucks only tackle the Malahat because a bridge to North Saanich wasn’t completed before a luxury home arrived to block a logical alternative?
I’ve heard a number of recent ideas floated as a solution to the problem — with ‘floated’ being the operative word. But most of them somehow seem to miss the mark, one way or another. Of better suggestions heard, why not utilize the long-defunct E&N right-of-way? Make an adjacent section of it as a Malahat two-lane bypass and alternate truck route up to Shawnigan Lake area or farther north.
And do adopt another section of it to serve as a priority bus route from the West Shore to downtown Victoria.
Don Wilkes
Langford
