Featuring headline stories from the Goldstream News Gazette over the past 30 years.
2007
Colwood council is eyeing a closure of Ocean Boulevard, claiming it would be the best way to protect the ecologically sensitive Esquimalt Lagoon and Coburg Peninsula that are increasingly being crowded by residential developments.
Councillors predict an uproar from commuters who use the route as an alternative to the congestion of the Island Highway. It’s estimated that mostly Metchosin residents are using the route for commuting purposes. The talks are in response to a report that says the peninsula is in need of protection.
Also making news the week of March 3, 2007:
View Royal council decides it doesn’t need special rules to force trailer parks to be neat and tidy. The discussion came in response to a letter from the Alliance of Concerned Citizens of B.C. out of Merritt, which states that community with manufactured home parks should enforce the same regulations as for other residents and make sure property managers keep the park in good order.
View Royal councillors say they already have bylaws in place to enforce cleanup when needed.
1997
Costco files an application with Langford for a proposed wholesale warehouse near Millstream Road and the Trans-Canada Highway. The retail giant received a chilly reception when it tried to open a store on the Saanich Peninsula in recent years and Langford Mayor Stew Young says it will be up to the residents to decide whether plans for the store will go forward. “If the public wants Costco, Costco will go in. If they don’t want Costco, Costco won’t go in,” he says.
Also making news the week of March 3, 1997:
A transportation study proposes two scenarios for the future of roads on the West Shore, a preferred road network and a do-minimum option. The preferred network includes a Millstream Connector from the TCH to Sooke Road with a southbound extension to Latoria Road, a Savory Road intersection at the TCH, a connector from the highway to Sooke Road on the west side of Langford Lake, and a south Langford Lake arterial route. The do-minimum option only includes the Millstream Connector route. The price of the preferred road network is tabbed at $41 million.
1987
Aquatic biologist Patrick Lucey says that Millstream is a piece of public heritage being abused. He says Langford residents who live along the stream have changed it from its natural state by increasing the organic and soil sediment load of the ocean tributary. The slow urbanization of the area is a threat common to streams all across North America, he says, and people have to become more conscious of what they are doing near water if they are going to prevent changes to it. “The creek will only be returned to its natural state when the people desire it,” he says.
Also making news the week of March 3, 1987:
The western communities will be getting a new pound in the next few years, which is welcome news for local animal control officers. The current Canishaven Kennels facility will be inadequate to handle the increased service, officer Miles Drew tells Colwood council, and the pound will expand its services to cover the control of all domestic animals within the next two months. Last week, the CRD banked $40,000 towards a new facility in the western communities.
–compiled by Joel Tansey