Re: Loop to McKenzie part of interchange design (Gazette, April 29)
I see a right turn lane crossing a bus lane – a recipe for crunch given the nature of drivers here – including aggressive BC Transit drivers. Will there be signal lights there?
I only see one through lane from McKenzie Avenue to Admirals Road, and there appears to be a traffic light on Admirals. That’s not a good long-term solution due to the volume of through traffic. I do see a bicyclist/pedestrian flyover of the Galloping Goose trail over McKenzie, but it is not clear how that traffic gets to Admirals - there’s much activity before and after school as many students live south of Highway 1.
At present there’s an overpass from behind Spectrum school to Portage Road. But I don’t know how students from the Catholic school get to Admirals. While there is a crosswalk on Hwy. 1, I’d be nervous walking with my back to traffic down McKenzie speedway – the province needs to ensure students from that school can access the pedestrian overpass.
And do make sure the overpass and McKenzie can handle bicycles, as there are many commuters to CFB Esquimalt and dockyards.
During construction, the situation for residents in the neighbourhood of Admirals and Gorge Road West will be severe. What can be done? Giving residents passes and metering other traffic seems cumbersome, and there’s no space for parking off Gorge.
As for noise, residents on the old section of Admirals north of Hwy. 1, and Portage Road parallel to the highway will wish the province had been more generous and bought them out or moved them. Regardless what time of day construction is done, people work early shifts and late shifts, sometimes night shifts, so noise will harm some people by interfering with sleep anytime of the day or night.
Keith Sketchley
Saanich