A road widening project to construct bike lanes on West Saanich Road was completed in December, 2018. This project was Phase 3 of the program and provided bike lanes from Willingdon Road at the south limit, northerly to the Tseycum First Nation. These lanes joined with existing lanes on West Saanich Rd to the south and north to complete a gap in the cycle network. This section also provides connectivity with the VAA’s Flightpath multi-use trail that circles the airport lands.
Design and public consultation for this project progressed through 2017 and early 2018 resulting in a design that addressed neighbourhood concerns, was sensitive to the natural environment and was intended to be a safe enhancement to the District road network.
Ditches along the east road limit were infilled and road and residential drainage is now conveyed to the outlet locations by underground pipes. This creates a wider boulevard area that enhances the safety of the road. Traffic calming measures were added to the section north of Mills Road with the intent to lower speeds in this area of increased residential density. A pedestrian activated crosswalk was also provided at Munro Road to allow safe access to the Scoter Trail.
Full time archaeological monitoring was in place for much of the project due to the proximity of sensitive areas. The monitoring, along with a local First Nation’s representative, helped ensure disturbance of any culturally sensitive material was minimized.
This project was completed on time and on budget. It also benefited from grant funding from the provincial Bike BC program which contributed 75% of the project costs.