Re: McKenzie Interchange. This long overdue improvement is thankfully in the works. But as soon as the designs were released the negative comments started by those who supposedly represent the community including a Saanich councillor, Vic Derman, and Rob Wickson, a community association president.
I live just blocks away from this inter-change, near Marigold and Interurban. I cycle to work most days but do drive from time to time. I also understand that not everyone can afford to live close to the city and so driving in to work is necessary. When I do have to drive in and out of my subdivision around 5 p.m., it’s often in long lines of cars waiting to get on the highway. The lines reach all the way up Marigold to Carey and clog the side streets where we residents live. But this is the fault of the poor design currently of the McKenzie interchange.
Yes, a transit solution should also be looked at but this new interchange is a step in the right direction. It will cut down on the cars in our neighbourhoods. It will also prevent the long lines of slow-moving or stopped cars which causes much pollution. I cringe at the “traffic calming” bottlenecks we create (think of View Royal and what they are doing near VGH), thinking this helps reduce pollution when instead it just means cars stay on the roads longer instead of getting home and turned off.
As a resident living in Saanich and living in a neighbourhood very near the interchange I want those working toward this solution to know that there are positive voices that are thankful for this.
Jim Runkel
Saanich