There are more forces affecting the Esquimalt Lagoon bridge than tidal action. The Esquimalt Lagoon Stewardship Initiative is seeking closure of the Coburg Peninsula to vehicle traffic and control over water activities on the lagoon.

The motivation, to protect the peninsula and wildlife using the lagoon, is laudable. The problem is that a group within the Colwood administration has adopted the initiative to the exclusion of all other interested parties and the community.

Those opposed to the bridge closing are motorists facing longer commutes, residents along Metchosin and Sooke Roads contending with increased traffic and boaters and rowing societies who wish to continue using the lagoon and are facing increased opposition from the stewardship initiative.

Emergency services are on record as requiring the bridge be maintained as a vital emergency link.

Without protection, the peninsula might one day be breached. If it happens the lagoon will be lost and the safety of waterfront homes threatened.

The question should be, is the peninsula worth protecting? If it is not to be protected there would seem little point in spending money on bridge repairs lest it become a bridge to nowhere.

With traffic lights, the bridge could be opened to single lane two-way traffic almost immediately, but Colwood's administration has stalled this solution in favour of a complete shutdown.

One indisputable fact is that through years of financial mismanagement, Colwood is not able to meet the cost of any major bridge repairs or to provide substantial protection for the peninsula.

I use the bridge as a motorist and am a pedestrian visitor to the peninsula, which I admit has become more pleasant to visit since the bridge closing. It is my hope that private agendas within Colwood's administration can be put aside to allow the public at large to have its say.

Brian Tucknott

councillor

Colwood