2241 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

Faulty vehicle is still a tiny amount of crash responsibility though, it's still mostly driver error.

 

Well, defective equipment did kill three on the 'Hat in 2012.

 

http://www.timescolo...crash-1.1193367

[Sparky]

All this chatter about rubber compounds, tread design, tempurature levels, and road conditions has made me lament about the good old days before all wheel drive and anti lock brakes.

There was nothing sweeter than saving up for a set of brand new $29 nylon white walls from Woolco. Man that was living.

The only downside with those puppies was during the colder weather when you had to drive at least 5 lumpy miles for the ride to smoothen out in the morning. It took about that long for the flat spot that formed while being parked all night to warm up and round out.

Good times.

[rjag]

^ Yup I remember outfitting my 1979 1/2 Mustang with some awesome bias ply rear snow tires from Woolco, I think they were $29!!!

[Bingo]

M+S meets the winter tire requirements for the Malahat. 

It's my opinion that they're generally rubbish and the requirement should be for the mountain snowflake symbol. 

 

 

Both the mountain snowflake and M+S tires meet the minimum requirement for winter tires in BC.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the RCMP recommend that regular travellers on BC’s highways equip their cars and light trucks with the mountain snowflake tire, which is the best tire available for winter conditions.

M+S tires are a viable option for motorists who live in areas without frequent winter weather and who plan their trips to coincide with periods of better weather.

More;  https://www2.gov.bc....nbc_handout.pdf

 

[rjag]

Looks like the Government is interested in soliciting citizen feedback regarding average speed cameras on the Malahat. Lets hope its because they realise there is an agenda behind this and it will have minimal effect on safety and listen....more to follow when contact info available

[Mike K.]

I drove the Malahat yesterday and man, was it ever nice with that construction speed zone. Nobody was pushing 120 in the 80, nobody was tailgating. It was, dare I say, pleasant.

Now 60 is not a reasonable speed for a highway but if these cameras force people to ease up and stop with the outrageous and excessive speeding and overly aggressive behaviour we see along then stretch then ...is it such a bad idea?

[sebberry]

If it was anything like the 60 zone at TCH&McKenzie, that's not the sort of compliance or flow we should be looking for.

[Mike K.]

Everyone was glued to 60, I think. No tailgating, no nonsense. It was a completely stress free drive, for once. And as you know I’m not a skittish driver.

[PraiseKek]

I did like the 60 zone when towing my RV. Not that I can't do 80 up all the hills on the malahat but even if you do the speed limit people are desperate to pass rvs.

[Bingo]

At South Shawnigan Lake Road looking south.

 

[G-Man]

I have been thinking a lot about a secondary route around the Malahat recently and it would seem that a simple solution would be to use what we already have. Why not rebuild burnt bridge past north shawnigan and pave from there to the Port Renfrew Circle road?

[VicHockeyFan]

How does that solve Victoria to North-of-Malahat traffic?

[Cassidy]

• Victoria to Duncan via Malahat = approx one hour, and is a 60k drive.
• Victoria to Duncan via Burnt Bridge = approx five to six hours, and is almost a 200k drive.

 

I'm all for re-opening the Burnt Bridge route, and I think it's a shame that it's been closed as long as it's been closed. We can all thank TimberWest for that (and for keeping the rest of the South Island backwoods locked up tight as well).

But IMO, the Burnt Bridge is a scenic route only.

 

A bridge or twinned Malahat will never happen of course (as we've previously discussed), which leaves my previously presented ideal solution as a new, Swartz Bay to Cowichan Bay ferry, which at around 7 miles would be roughly a half hour trip from dock to dock. 

With the half hour drive up the Pat Bay Highway, that makes Victoria to Duncan about one hour and 15 minutes, not including ferry wait times.

 

WIN/WIN for everybody in that road construction is minimal, and the dockage is already in place at Swartz Bay, with only the Cowichan Bay terminal needing to be constructed. AND - if you made the ferry scalable, you could up the capacity on reasonably short notice, such as those times when the Malahat is closed due to an accident, or the inclement weather hazard is high (for South Island drivers, anything resembling snow).

 

All kidding aside, unless you're going to commit to a six lane super-highway from Langford to Mill Bay, and build it up through (or near) the watershed lands, you can forget about a roadway solution to the Malahat. A roadway solution looks like the "new" Island Highway where it splits off at Nanaimo and continues up-island. THAT'S what the roadway solution looks like - a six lane expressway ... and that will never happen IMO, as the watershed is now and forever locked up as if it were a maximum security prison facility.

 

But for practical purposes, we live on an island surrounded by a bunch of smaller islands, and we're already very well served by a wide variety of ferry routes ... the "Malahat Solution" is (IMO) simply a *new* ferry solution?

Edited by Cassidy, 31 December 2017 - 09:45 AM.

[G-Man]

I wasn't saying that it would be a day to day alternative but rather a faster secondary route then the current circle route through Lake Cowichan for when the Malahat is closed.

[VicHockeyFan]

I’m sure we can find a way to build a road through a watershed. You put a ditch / pipe on each side to collects any troublesome runoff.

[Cassidy]

I wasn't saying that it would be a day to day alternative but rather a faster secondary route then the current circle route through Lake Cowichan for when the Malahat is closed.

The Pacific Marine Route up thorough Cowichan is a very upgraded, recently re-paved bit of roadway. I don't think Burnt Bridge could ever be any faster ... even if paved it's still basically a one lane logging road.

 

Highways have already dumped a millions into the Pacific Marine Route, and I can't seem them doing the same thing again just a few miles to the south.

 

In reality though, neither Burnt Bridge or Pacific Marine are in any way effective detours for the Malahat, as for much of the winter, these areas are covered in snow, and are (despite improvements) a looooonnnng way out in the bush, such that any normal family of four might be a bit nuts to try such a detour in the middle of winter, over a pitch black bit of roadway with ZERO services, and nothing even close to regular RCMP patrols. 

 

It's risky business to head up into the south island mountains in winter, this on what is ultimately just a logging road, be it paved or unpaved. (recall that guy a few years ago that got stuck in the snow up on the Pacific Marine Route, inspiring a large scale search, eventually found after a couple of days, "OK", but highlighting that this route simply isn't safe in winter).

[Cassidy]

I’m sure we can find a way to build a road through a watershed. You put a ditch / pipe on each side to collects any troublesome runoff.

In my experience, aside from the fact that they (the CRD) simply don't want you anywhere near the watershed, their biggest concern is always fire, not pollution.

 

Watershed security is obsessed with fire, or anything at all that might start a fire.

[exc911ence]

With all of the water being shedded, I would think that the risk of fire would be rather low. 

[Bingo]

I wasn't saying that it would be a day to day alternative but rather a faster secondary route then the current circle route through Lake Cowichan for when the Malahat is closed.

 

And far far away from those pesky sidewalks.

[malahatdrive]

The Malahat does not need to be twinned per se, just 4 laned in its current location (Goldstream is an exception and should be bypassed). 4 Laning is currently under construction between Aspen Rd and Shawngian lake Rd. The section between shawnigan Lake road and Whittaker Rd is already graded to 4 lanes just not arranged yet. Then a short 4 lane section exists between Whittaker and the summit.

Looking beyond the current construction project I could see 4 Laning between the summit and Bamberton. So most of the Malahat could be 4 laned in the not too distant future.