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Pedestrian bridge needed for Langford

Re: Pedestrians remain a puzzle for bridge rebuild, News, March 7, 2012.

Re: Pedestrians remain a puzzle for bridge rebuild, News, March 7, 2012.

The Gazette’s article on the travails awaiting pedestrians for six months while Craigflower bridge is being replaced has found strong resonance in the pedestrians of the Florence Lake area in north Langford.

They are facing a similar situation for many years to come, when the pedestrian-activated crossing of the Trans-Canada Highway at Spencer Road is shut down.

Over a couple of years, repeated public promises were made in open sessions of Langford city council that this highway crossing will remain operative until a new pedestrian highway overpass from Brock Avenue to To Brock Avenue (right downtown Langford) is in place.

But then, suddenly, last fall the mayor mentioned in a bombshell announcement this firmly-promised pedestrian overpass is now conditional upon receiving an infrastructure grant from the B.C. government, and that the City has applied for funding, but that nothing is in the pipeline.

Beside youngsters and young mothers, many seniors in the Florence lake area will be hit hard when the crossing closes.

Langford’s official community plan supports “aging in place,” but with regard to the Trans-Canada Highway this has not been incorporated  or reflected in the traffic agreements with the major north-Langford developments paying for the Leigh Road interchange.

New developments are always required to make allowances to and for existing residents, but not in this case.

I note Saanich has an official pedestrian priority plan, hence a couple of pedestrian overpasses across the Trans-Canada Highway.

This highway is the most important connector in the region, the province and the country, but not in Langford for the most basic traffic: pedestrians. The most separated area of the City is the north Langford area.

Axel Brock-Miller

Langford