With all the announcements of highway improvements and talk of bike lanes, I was reminded of an article a short while ago with respect to Esquimalt considering reducing the traffic flow on Admirals Road by putting in bike lanes and trafficcalming flower beds, which will give drivers something pretty to look at while they are gridlocked in traffic.
Why is Esquimalt considering bike lanes when there is a perfectly good solution in place by the Capital Regional District that is just needing to be completed, namely the much-vaunted E&N multi-use trail?
Even though there are signs up saying the trail is under construction and there is no access, it is being used daily by hundreds of commuters and residents. However, there is one missing section, ironically, linking Admirals/Colville with the Old Island Highway in View Royal, which is just the section of Admirals that Esquimalt is considering putting in bike lanes.
Esquimalt council, instead of wasting my tax dollars, should put pressure on the CRD to finish what they started, and link up the E&N Rail Trail, thus providing bike commuters a safe new ride from the West Shore to the dockyard and on into Victoria.
Ken Drum
Esquimalt
