News

March 3 is World Wildlife Day, a day that celebrates and raises awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants. World Wildlife Day has now become the most important global annual event dedicated to wildlife.

Celebrated in 2022 under the theme “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”, celebrations will seek to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora, and to drive discussions towards imagining and implementing solutions to conserve them.

According to the Red List of Threatened Species, over 8,400 species of wild fauna and flora are critically endangered, while close to 30,000 more are understood to be endangered or vulnerable. Based on these estimates, it is suggested that over a million species are threatened with extinction.

Continued loss of species, habitats and ecosystems also threatens all life on Earth, including us. People everywhere rely on wildlife and biodiversity-based resources to meet all our needs, from food, to fuel, medicines, housing, and clothing. Millions of people also rely on nature as the source of their livelihoods and economic opportunities.

For more information and events in our area, go to https://www.wildlifeday.org

QCHCA’s Traffic and Safety Action Group suggested posting this thoughtful and informative article from the Times Colonist on February 25 by John Ducker: “With development comes need for safety”

Unchecked development, and the number of cars coming with it, seems to be the future for the CRD.

Local and regional traffic plans offer little in the way of life-saving strategies similar to those adopted in Edmonton, which has achieved large drops in traffic fatalities and injuries through measures such as crosswalk upgrades, safety improvements around schools, electronic feedback speed signs and intersection cameras, writes John Ducker. 

The recent announcement by the City of Colwood about the creation of a $1.2-billion development in Royal Bay should give all CRD road users pause.

The plan calls for 2,850 homes plus retail and commercial space spread over 135 acres in the former quarry area. Despite the best of intentions by developers and planners in creating a world-class live, work and play enclave, one outcome is certain — there’ll be a lot more cars coming to the region’s streets, period.

It’s not just Colwood. Development throughout the lower Island seems to be exploding, with the corresponding effect on our roadways.

Last Sunday afternoon, I went south on Blanshard from Tolmie, heading downtown. I had a two-light wait just to get through Finlayson. For a guy who can remember a time when Pandora, Yates and Fort had so little volume they were two-way streets, a two-light wait on a Sunday is hard to swallow.

I have no doubt that there are people working harder than ever right now to develop a sustainable, efficient and common- sensical approach to ironing out the traffic woes of the CRD. Best of luck working through our local labyrinth.

Based on the emails I’m getting from readers around road safety, planners must start taking things a step further and build in much more around designed safety.

One program that seems to be working well in several cities around the world is called Vision Zero. The Vision Zero project was born in Sweden in 1997 and its goal is simple, if somewhat utopian: zero traffic deaths. Vision Zero sees it as ethically unacceptable that people are killed or seriously injured by our road transport system and suggests that, rather than road users bearing all responsibility for safety, responsibility must be shared with transportation-system designers.

The project has many goals, but here are some key ideas:

Local knowledge and input is essential. Neighbourhoods know where their road safety problems occur. Tapping into the experiences of what residents already know about their streets is both time and cost effective and creates buy-in.

A data-based, evidence-driven approach is also crucial. Several cities in the past few years adopted a low-cost method of trying to tackle speed problems by simply lowering their limits to reduce injuries and deaths.

However, their data collection quickly showed that simply lowering limits had little to no effect on the problem. Stepped-up enforcement by traffic cops and speed cameras made quite a difference, but is cost-prohibitive.

Armed with proper evidence, many cities using Vision Zero practices went instead to traffic-calming measures such as roundabouts, offsets, medians and central turn lanes, all built to manage driver speeds.

Over the past six years, Edmonton has gone all-in on this philosophy, installing 248 crosswalk upgrades, 237 safety improvements around schools, 212 driver-feedback speed signs and 105 intersection cameras, and improving 105 signalized intersections with engineering upgrades.

The results speak for themselves. Traffic-related fatalities have decreased by 63%, while serious injuries have decreased by 40%, and pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries have decreased by 54%. The injury cost savings must surely be in the tens of millions of dollars, not to mention the incalculable drop in simple human suffering.

Unchecked development, and the number of cars coming with it, seems to be the future for the CRD. I’ve scanned through several local and regional traffic plans. I was hard-pressed to find much on life-saving strategies similar to what Edmonton has adopted. A truly coherent and efficient rapid transit system will obviously help, but it’s still years away and I’m not sure why that’s taking so long.

As a driver, I’ll support spending money on common-sense planning that takes a regional approach to improving our transportation system — a system that feels harder and more frustrating to negotiate each day. So why not fill two needs with one deed and use some Vision Zero thinking. Saving lives should be as high a priority as plain old efficiency in moving cars through the increasingly congested CRD.

Glove Box: Following up on the pedestrian safety column last week, a reader was quick to remind me of a little-known requirement in our motor vehicle act — section 179(2). “A pedestrian must not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is impracticable for the driver to yield the right of way.”

It’s a good reminder that safety is not solely about the drivers out there. I’d be happy with just converting those pedestrians who never turn their heads, even a bit, to see what’s headed at them before they step out.”  

johntcdriving@gmail.com

Photo credit:  Darren Stone, TC

Saanich, BC – The need to redevelop the Saanich Operations Centre and the first conceptual site plan are ready to share with residents through an information campaign as the first important milestone for this multi-year redevelopment project.

“The Saanich Operations Centre is the lively hub for our incredible operations staff who deliver services we all depend on and is our highest priority for capital investment,” said Mayor Fred Haynes. “A new facility will be a tremendous asset for our staff and community, and I’m delighted it will ensure continued service delivery into the future while improving working conditions for our dedicated staff.”

The Operations Centre, located at 1040 McKenzie Avenue, houses all of Saanich’s parks and public works operations. Residents and businesses rely on the municipal services provided by these teams every day. Services such as water for drinking and waste removal; transportation, including roads, traffic control and pathways for active transportation; parks, boulevards, waterways, and shorelines; and solid waste removal all support the high quality of life in Saanich.

The facilities at the site reflect almost seven decades of heavy use despite continued maintenance. In addition to being beyond their useful and designed life extents, the facilities are outdated, pose health and safety concerns and are undersized when it comes to building code requirements, operational practices, and future growth needs. As Saanich’s delivery of critical services is essential to the quality of life and well-being residents depend upon, the growing risk to effective and sustainable delivery of services requires urgent planning and preparation.

Next steps

Staff will prepare a business case for Council’s review and decision in late spring 2022. The business case will outline the project options, proposed schedule and costs. Input from the upcoming public engagement will be incorporated into the report for Council. Opportunities for public engagement at future stages of the project will be outlined in the business case.

If Council approves the business case, the project will move into a detailed design phase. Funding for implementation and construction will require further approval processes in future.

Quick facts

• The Strategic Facilities Master Plan, adopted by Council in 2018, provides a framework to help prioritize investment in municipal facilities.
• More than 300 parks and public works staff currently work at or report out of the Operations Centre.
• The Operations Centre was formerly known as the Parks and Public Works Yard and occupies approximately 13 acres.
• Most of the buildings were constructed between the late 1950s and mid 1970s

Learn more

Find more information about the project, including, plans and detailed information, FAQsand a video, and details about public information sessions at saanich.ca/socplan.

JOIN QCHCA members and friends by Zoom on Tuesday, March 22 at 7pm to hear Saanich’s Stacey McGhee talk about the vision, the proposed engagement process and give a Q&A.  Email qchca3003@gmail.com to get zoom login details

The CRD produces occasional newsletters about caring for our environment.  This one focuses on waste and what we can do to reduce it . . .2022/02/2022-03-EasyWaystoTeachKidsAboutWasteNewsletter.pdf

One of our Board members took these photos of Judge Place neighbours getting into the spirit of the season with their reminders to all of us to slow down and take extra care, especially at this time of year when it gets dark early and streets are often rainy or slick.  Keep safe!

Online Climate Action Workshop Series

Join this free online workshop series about climate change big ideas and practical actions in your community. Learn from Saanich staff and expert guests about ways to make your transportation, home, yard, and purchases more resilient and climate-friendly and different tools and rebates available to support you. Come out of the series knowing more about the inspiring climate action happening in your community and with your own personal prioritized climate action plan.

Tuesday evenings from 7-8pm.

January 25 – March 1, 2022

Online using MS Teams. Link will be emailed prior to workshop.

Register through Saanich RecOnline:

https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/saanich/activity/search/detail/64445?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

Workshop Series Topics

• Saanich Climate Action 101: an introduction to preparing your own Climate Action Plan
• Naturescape for climate resilience and biodiversity in your yard: Naturescaping can save you money and time, add greater enjoyment and inspiration to your gardening as well as increasing climate resilience and ecosystem services.
• Sustainable transportation: learn all about walking, transit, cycling, e-bikes, and electric vehicles and charging
• Climate-friendly home renovations: heat pumps are the most efficient, and climate-friendly, heating and cooling system on the market. Learn what a heat pump is, the benefits of heat pumps, how to find a program registered contractor and what rebates, financing offers and supports are available to help you upgrade your heating system.
• Lighter Living: tips and local resources, success stories, and ways to get involved in reducing your climate impact with your purchasing choices for food, clothing, consumer goods, and more.
• Emergency preparedness: what emergency preparedness from a climate adaptation perspective can include, and resources from Saanich to help.