Friday, Sept. 14 – I left downtown Victoria at 2:30 p.m. and got home at midnight. It took me 9.5 hours to travel 43 kilometres. In that time I could have flown to Europe.
Why was the road closed for so long and why were hundreds of vehicles gridlocked? Will the public ever be told the full, true story?
Drive BC did an lousy job informing people, with incorrect, late updates. Just tell the truth. If I knew traffic wouldn’t be moving until around 11 p.m., I would have made different plans. Don’t broadcast false hope.
And I don’t want to hear the tedious, trite explanation that investigations had to be done. Despite all the rumours, there were no fatalities, so why such a long delay? And since the two crashes were obviously fully investigated, please tell us the results. Was it speeding? Distracted driving? Road rage? Impairment? Medical problems? Full facts, please, including what penalties the three motorists face.
Beyond the lost productivity and frustration, there was a bit of irony. The single-vehicle crash involved a brand new crosswalk, where the driver hit the overhead light standard. The crosswalk (to a new bus shelter) is merely a cosmetic improvement to Highway 14, not a meaningful fix that will help vehicles move better.
The traffic ain’t going away. Even higher gas prices are no deterrent to less travel. A disturbing number of drivers in the Friday snafu kept their gas-guzzlers running while waiting to inch forward.
But on the light side, I wonder if there will be a baby boom in nine months?
Shannon Moneo, Sooke
