Who hasn’t been affected this year by the plethora of road construction all over the capital region? We’ve learned to add 20 minutes to our commuting time, wait through multiple lights to get through intersections and when it shows up on our very own street, grin and bear the noise and disruption until they move on to another project, hopefully sooner than later.
But what happens when construction comes to stay, not for a week or two or even a month but for four or more months? I can tell you all about it because my street in Saanich near the University of Victoria has been the site of ongoing construction since the beginning of May. Every morning they start bright and early, usually before 7 a.m.
There are people who live in Victoria who don’t get out of bed early in the morning. I’m one of them, and it’s for health reasons. People have lots of reasons they may not want to listen to a road crew yelling at each other at 6:30 a.m., or a hydraulic drill destroying the street or gravel being spread.
We all know that road work is necessary to improve infrastructure, create bike lanes, update sidewalks and so forth. It’s something that should be completed as expeditiously as possible, because it’s hugely disruptive not only to the residents but to the many commuters who use the roadway.
Now that the road construction which covers only a few blocks on Finnerty Road leading up to the UVic circle at McKenzie is into its fifth month, one has to question whether the project has been managed efficiently by the Saanich engineering department and the contractors, Copcan.
One acquaintance with a background in this kind of work has opined that it could have been done in two months, max. What a difference that would have made.
What happens when this kind of project is poorly managed? The first thing that comes to mind is the environment. Think about the number of road construction projects that have been simultaneously happening in the capital region. Just the number of idling construction vehicles alone must have had a significant impact on methane and CO2 levels. Is there no co-ordination of these projects along with private construction that would limit the number of emitters and reduce the carbon imprint?
On our street, as I imagine on many construction sites, there have been days when my house has felt like it was going to vibrate off the foundation; the walls shake and dishes clatter in the cupboards.
Are homeowners protected by this kind of damage? One article I read suggests that poor road construction methods can lead to permanent structural damage, yet no baseline condition of our homes was made or even suggested.
What about the health of residents subjected to dust containing who knows what kind of particulate over a now five-month period? Because of a prior condition, I have a good air purification in my house, but others do not. But even with that protection my breathing has been seriously compromised as has that of others.
Then there are the many annoyances that seem to come with poor project management. I’ll just name a few.
For the first two months, my garbage, organics and recycling were not picked up because the road crew allowing access to the street wouldn’t let them in. I had to beg, cajole, take it higher up until finally they got the message.
Postal delivery and other services of that kind were also diverted, causing much angst to those who are tasked with prompt and safe delivery, not to mention those of us who depend on it.
I am reluctant to go into the esthetics of road construction but will anyway. Suffice it to say that my street looked like a war zone for the better part of four months. It was like staring into a street in Baghdad after a car bomb went off.
This was particularly galling as I wrote a huge cheque for property taxes and for all the accoutrements of water service, garbage collection and who knows what else, which added 25 per cent onto my tax bill.
However, it does remind one that I am actually paying for the disaster in front of my eyes, as are my neighbours and the citizenry of Saanich and the capital region. We have a right to be figured into the equation when long-term projects like the one on Finnerty Road are being planned.
Mary Fox lives in Saanich.
