Langford wants the provincial government to help finish the notorious Leigh Road interchange, but both governments need to act now to fix the dangerous side-effects of the interchange.
Meesha-chan Grubisic, 47, died last Thursday when she was struck by a car in front of her home on Goldstream Avenue. Witnesses said it appeared she was trying to rescue her dog, Sailor, which had run into the street. Grubisic leaves an 11-year-old daughter.
Police say the Kamloops driver was apparently not speeding; they speculate the sun鈥檚 glare might have prevented him from seeing the woman in the road.
Before the Leigh Road interchange opened, traffic could enter and exit the Trans-sa国际传媒 Highway in both directions at the Spencer Road intersection. Since the interchange opened, drivers can no longer turn off the highway onto Spencer Road. For southbound drivers, the only options are to wait until Millstream Road or exit earlier, onto Goldstream Avenue.
Goldstream is a narrow residential road that was not designed to handle the kind of traffic that has flooded it. The stretch near Grubisic鈥檚 home has no sidewalks, and pedestrians have to step into the traffic lane to skirt parked cars.
One neighbour said a traffic count found 4,000 cars a day use Goldstream since the Leigh Road interchange opened. The residents have asked for speed bumps, but the city says they would impede emergency vehicles.
After Grubisic鈥檚 death, Langford Coun. Lanny Seaton said the city wants to fix the situation. He said the provincial government should kick in money to finish the interchange. The province should say no.
The heavier traffic on Goldstream falls under the heading of unintended consequences. We doubt that anyone involved in planning the interchange expected that it would funnel thousands of extra vehicles through a residential neighbourhood.
But while the added traffic was unintended, it should not have been unforeseen.
The concept was to include a full interchange at Leigh Road, but after the bottom fell out of the economy, there wasn鈥檛 enough money to build the southbound off-ramp from the Trans-sa国际传媒. If the Spencer Road exit had remained open, that would have eased some of the pressure. When it was closed, it was obvious some drivers would leave the highway at Goldstream to avoid Millstream.
We have argued several times that the interchange is an example of the poor decisions that are made because Greater Victoria lacks a regional transportation plan.
The Leigh Road interchange was built not because it was the most desperately needed upgrade on the Trans-sa国际传媒 (the McKenzie/Admirals intersection is far more pressing) but because Langford wanted it and was willing to put up the money.
The province paid only $4 million of the $25-million cost. The project went ahead on the understanding that Langford would be repaid by the developers of nearby property, as the interchange would primarily serve their developments.
It did nothing to cure the region鈥檚 serious traffic problems. Indeed, it will make them worse by funnelling still more cars down the Trans-sa国际传媒 at rush hour.
For a long time, the overpass remained unfinished and unused. It should have stayed that way until the developers started building houses to justify it.
Instead, Langford went ahead with part of an interchange that connects with almost nothing to the north, and makes options worse for southbound drivers and residents of Goldstream Avenue.
Residents have suggested a new kind of speed bump that allows emergency vehicles to pass. Another option is to reopen the southbound exit at Spencer, although that presents problems of its own.
Regardless of what happens with the interchange, Langford and the province must act quickly to make Goldstream Avenue safer.
