West Shore residents who work for the government can soon wave goodbye to their stressful downtown commute.
The province announced a pilot project to fit approximately 100 government employees in an 11,000-square-ft. space in Langford by late fall 2020.
The province signed a lease for the space and is investing about $2.2 million in the project managed by WestHills Construction Inc. Design work is underway and construction is expected to begin in spring 2020.
Premier @jjhorgan makes it official. 100 gov’t employees will no longer have to commute to DT #Victoria. They’ll be in this space at the WestHills building in Langford by end of 2020. #yyjtraffic @GoldstreamNews pic.twitter.com/v1v7BsoCE5
— Aaron Guillen (@iaaronguillen) November 13, 2019
“We’re always looking for opportunities to provide people what they need within their community,” said B.C. Premier John Horgan. “We already know that this will be oversubscribed to almost instantly. Life will be a lot easier by cutting out an hour and a half of commuter time.”
Horgan noted how he and Langford Mayor Stew Young were both hockey dads decades ago.
“We would hear parents complaining about going back and forth to work all the time. I don’t think it’s surprising to tell you I’m stoked about this.”
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This pilot project will take over space in the Lakepoint One condominium, near the Westhills YMCA-YWCA.
According to the ministry, this move will reduce traffic congestion and emissions, save residents money, and cut commute times. Approximately 20 per cent of B.C. Public Service employees who work in Victoria live on the West Shore.
“It’s the right location because it’s close to where young families are living,” Langford Mayor Stew Young told Black Press Media previously. “No one wants to commute that far, especially when all these officials are talking about climate action.”
Young says he’s been urging the government to get the ball rolling since his first speech as a politician almost three decades ago.
“I wouldn’t mind if they brought an entire ministry out here. The long term solution isn’t building bigger and better interchanges, it’s about bringing jobs closer to home.”
