44 replies to this topic

[Bernard]

I plan to drive the bridge tomorrow.

 

Though I wish Saanich had the vision to 4 lane Wilkinson

[Bingo]

The new bridge, built to replace the 1935 original, is scheduled to open Friday at 2 p.m.

At 15 metres long, the bridge is almost as wide it is long and nearly double the width of the original.

Saanich also added new bike lanes, sidewalks and trails, as well as energy-efficient LED street lights as part of the $6.5-million project, said engineering director Harley Machielse.

New sidewalks were added on both sides of Wilkinson Road and Lindsay Street, and 465 metres of new Colquitz River trail and 340 metres of new on-road bike lanes were constructed.

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.FbUCH1Et.dpuf

[Coreyburger]

I plan to drive the bridge tomorrow.

 

Though I wish Saanich had the vision to 4 lane Wilkinson

 

I am glad Saanich had the vision to NOT 4 lane Wilkinson. We are back to value statements, which we disagree on.

[Bingo]

I plan to drive the bridge tomorrow.

 

Though I wish Saanich had the vision to 4 lane Wilkinson

 

Are there not two vehicle lanes and two separated bike lanes.

 

[Nparker]

...Though I wish Saanich had the vision to 4 lane Wilkinson

With the exception of provincially controlled roads, have any streets in the CRD been expanded in the past few years? It seems to me median boulevards and so-called traffic calming measures have become the norm, with roads becoming more and more congested.

[Nparker]

...two separated bike lanes.

Does anyone really believe Wilkinson will become a major biking corridor?

[Coreyburger]

With the exception of provincially controlled roads, have any streets in the CRD been expanded in the past few years? It seems to me median boulevards and so-called traffic calming measures have become the norm, with roads becoming more and more congested.

 

Douglas St has been widened. There are new roads in Langford in a few places.

[lanforod]

I don't think Wilkinson needs to be 4 lanes. They just need to fix the '5 corners' mess. Bite the bullet and shut off Hastings as the simplest and cheapest way to do that.

[On the Level]

With the exception of provincially controlled roads, have any streets in the CRD been expanded in the past few years? It seems to me median boulevards and so-called traffic calming measures have become the norm, with roads becoming more and more congested.

Another example of ignoring unintended consequences. I haven't looked at traffic patterns, and we will see how the overpass at Mackenzie changes things, but with no upgrade for capacity, this corridor is at high risk for saturation in the near future, turning into another Burnside where you can't get to your home due to gridlock.

The new traffic blocking concrete bubble at Helmcken, the babbling brook on the old island hwy, and now the bridge replacement on Wilkinson.....all social engineering experiments that certainly won't last as long as what they replaced.

[rjag]

I don't think Wilkinson needs to be 4 lanes. They just need to fix the '5 corners' mess. Bite the bullet and shut off Hastings as the simplest and cheapest way to do that.

It's a perfect location for a 2 lane roundabout

[exc911ence]

I plan to drive the bridge tomorrow.

 

Though I wish Saanich had the vision to 4 lane Wilkinson

Vision is difficult with blinders on....

 

The whole capital region needs to start looking at future needs as it's going to be chaos here in the next 20 years when a possible 3 million new residents arrive to retire in our quaint seaside village. 

 

Say what?

 

Word has it that 3 in 10 Boomers plan on retiring to the Victoria area from elsewhere in Canada... I read that if only 1 in 10 actually make the move, we'll have a population increase of one million people within the next 20 years. Think about Metro Victoria operating with 1.35 million residents using the current infrastructure...

 

They should have 4-laned Wilkinson. 

[Bernard]

arterial roads should be four lane roads, Wilkinson, Interurban and Helmcken are all arterial roads that do not function as they should.   Cars and trucks needlessly sitting in traffic increases greenhouse gas emissions.   All that happens when roads are allowed to have unreasonable traffic delays is that the cost of housing closer to the centre of the city goes up and people that live beyond the traffic problems spend more time with their car running and not going anywhere.

 

The fact Wilkinson is not four lane really has a very negative impact in the neighbourhood.   In parts of Strawberry Vale getting out of the side street you live on becomes a serious pain during the afternoon rush hours.   Transit is also held up by the traffic so it does not help anyone.   There are roads that should have transit on it but BC Transit will not run buses on them because the traffic delays are too much to allow for sticking to a timetable.

 

In this region we are adding most of the housing on the Westshore but the jobs are elsewhere.   We have chosen to have the new houses in Langford, Colwood, Sooke and View Royal but not take the basic decision to ensure the road network is designed to carry the vehicle traffic it should be able to.   We have also chosen to push industrial uses of land out of the core of the city which means we have trucks driving much further and being caught in traffic.   

[Bingo]

Vision is difficult with blinders on....

They should have 4-laned Wilkinson. 

 

Too late...

 

The fact Wilkinson is not four lane really has a very negative impact in the neighbourhood. 

 

...ditto

[Coreyburger]

arterial roads should be four lane roads, Wilkinson, Interurban and Helmcken are all arterial roads that do not function as they should.   Cars and trucks needlessly sitting in traffic increases greenhouse gas emissions.   All that happens when roads are allowed to have unreasonable traffic delays is that the cost of housing closer to the centre of the city goes up and people that live beyond the traffic problems spend more time with their car running and not going anywhere.

 

Four lane roads only have minor increases in throughput over two-lane roads. It depends on the how the intersections are designed. This is the big lie that road-building keeps perpetuating - that we can build ourselves out of congestion when population and thus demand is increasing. It can't happen.

[Bernard]

Four lane roads only have minor increases in throughput over two-lane roads. It depends on the how the intersections are designed. This is the big lie that road-building keeps perpetuating - that we can build ourselves out of congestion when population and thus demand is increasing. It can't happen.

It is possible to build yourself out of congestion, we could build an eight lane freeway from downtown to Duncan and get rid of all the traffic issues.   The issue is what the public is willing to build.   

 

A four lane road with proper left turn bays with enough storage has significantly more throughput of vehicles than twice the two lane road capacity.   You can see in Vancouver, where all the arterials are four lane, how much traffic can be moved.   The volume and speed of the traffic on a street like Knight is dramatically more than Interurban even though Knight has a lot more lights.

[Coreyburger]

It is possible to build yourself out of congestion, we could build an eight lane freeway from downtown to Duncan and get rid of all the traffic issues.   The issue is what the public is willing to build.   

 

A four lane road with proper left turn bays with enough storage has significantly more throughput of vehicles than twice the two lane road capacity.   You can see in Vancouver, where all the arterials are four lane, how much traffic can be moved.   The volume and speed of the traffic on a street like Knight is dramatically more than Interurban even though Knight has a lot more lights.

 

Left turn bays are a function of intersection design, not the number of lanes for the mid-block sections. And it depends on what the community wants. In this case, the community has clearly indicated that road expansion in not acceptable

[lanforod]

The bridge is open as of about an hour ago.

I live just off Wilkinson. I really don't think it needs to be 4 lanes. The only reason there is traffic problems is due to one really bad intersection.

[Bingo]

The bridge is open as of about an hour ago.

I live just off Wilkinson. I really don't think it needs to be 4 lanes. The only reason there is traffic problems is due to one really bad intersection.

 

The bridge had a soft opening earlier in the day, no ribbon cutting no cake or cookies. 

[lanforod]

The road closed signs were still there at 1:30...

[Bingo]

The road closed signs were still there at 1:30...

 

Buses were going through before that.