The three proposed McKenzie interchange designs work against any future rapid bus or light rail and are not bicycle friendly, say two Victoria councillors.
In fact, with all of the proposals, single-occupancy vehicle traffic is much improved, but the standard of service for transit riders would be reduced, councillors Jeremy Loveday and Geoff Young say in a report going to council today.
“This is the opposite of what our transportation objectives should be,” their report says.
“Studies to date suggest that the most cost-beneficial regional transit option for the medium term is a rapid bus system, with light rail becoming more economical in the longer term as traffic volumes rise. The best way to meet medium- and longer-term goals would seem to be to have an uninterrupted right of way for transit.”
Loveday and Young want Mayor Lisa Helps to write to the provincial and federal government ministers expressing concern about the proposed designs.
Improvements to the intersection, located in Saanich, are seen as one of the keys to smoothing out the Colwood Crawl.
The interchange is estimated to cost $85 million.
All three of the interchange options show buses on the highway either ascending or descending to the level of McKenzie/ Admirals where they would wait at a traffic light, in addition to time spent at the bus stop itself, the two say in their report.
“Even with some kind of transit priority stoplight, this would add to the stopping time for buses at the intersection,” they say.
“Thus the standard of service would be little improved from what would be available right now with a transit priority stoplight.”
The councillors note that under all the designs, bus stops for both incoming and outgoing buses are separated much more than they currently are and that going from one to the other requires crossing the highway on an underpass or overpass and waiting through an additional signal cycle.
“This is not of great consequence now, but if a planned McKenzie/Admirals bus route is implemented, there would be no possibility of a single station serving all four directions,” their report says.
They say that the interchange should be bicycle friendly, with as level a route as possible, and that a bicycle overpass could be added to the project at a tiny fraction of the overall cost.
As it is designed, while cyclists would be able to avoid waiting for a light signal, the designs call for them to climb between one and two grade separations.
“One bicycle opportunity that is not developed is the connection on the south side of the highway between Portage Road, which is a good bicycle route that links with a bicycle connection through the waterfront park on Portage Inlet to View Royal, to the existing bike path on the south side of the highway running beside Colquitz River Park,” they say.
The province unveiled its three options for the interchange for public feedback last month.
All three eliminate the stop lights for through traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway, have longer merge lanes for vehicles entering or leaving the highway and elevate the nearby Galloping Goose Regional Trail above the vehicle lanes.
For more information on the project, go to engage.gov.bc.ca/mckenzieinterchange. Online feedback forms can be submitted until Dec. 11.
