Advocating for better public transit in Greater Victoria
Check out this great letter to the editor from Better Transit Alliance member Cathy Willander of Colwood. (How about writing your own letter to the editor today?)
Trans-Canada congestion is a climate crime
Times Colonist – November 18, 2017
I have just moved to Colwood from South Delta, and the Colwood Crawl is much worse than getting through the Massey Tunnel, commonly referred to as the worst traffic jam in B.C. Continue reading “Colwood BTA member’s letter to editor re bus lanes”
Bids solicited for extension of Douglas Street bus lanes
Lindsay Kines / Times Colonist
November 15, 2017
Bids for the next phase of the Douglas Street bus lanes — designed to speed bus travel along the busy Douglas corridor — have been reopened.
The B.C. government and City of Victoria have reopened bidding on construction contracts to lengthen the priority bus lanes on Douglas Street. The Ministry of Transportation issued a call for bids Tuesday to extend the northbound lane from Tolmie Avenue to the Burnside Bridge, where Burnside and Interurban roads cross under the Trans-Canada Highway. Continue reading “BTA gets Commitment for Emergency Meeting if Bus Lanes Over Budget”
Letter to the editor by Better Transit Alliance member Eric Doherty:
Bus lanes already under construction
Times Colonist, October 27, 2017
Re: “Run electric buses on E&N corridor: firm,” Oct. 24. Why is so much time being wasted talking about bus lanes on the E&N corridor when bus lanes on the Douglas Street/Trans-Canada Highway corridor are already under construction? Continue reading “Another Letter to Editor!”
More bus lanes should be a priority
Times Colonist – October 8, 2017
Re: “Residents call for more affordable transit,” Oct. 3.
The new Vital Signs report has a lot of good information on what people in Greater Victoria want, beyond lower transit fares. The report shows that people are tired of transit riders getting stuck in traffic, and think we should reduce our reliance on cars. It also says we should “take urgent action to combat climate change.” Continue reading “Better Transit Alliance letter to editor in Times Colonist”
Prime Minister Trudeau, former Premier Clark and most of Canada’s premiers signed the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change in 2016. This Framework contains a policy shift that could fund much better transit in our region, and reduce climate pollution. But this likely won’t happen without local support!
The Framework commits the federal and provincial governments to “shift from higher to lower-emitting types of transportation, including through investing in infrastructure.” This means investing more in better transit and less on urban highways that just become congested again.
So if you want better transit, and effective climate action, read and sign the open letter today!
A Look at Transit in the South Island
by Sue Stroud, citizen reporter
Last spring Saanich Peninsula Green Drinks hosted a presentation by Eric Doherty of the Better Transit Alliance of Greater Victoria around transit options for the region. The evening, hosted by Central Saanich Councillor Alicia Holman included a slide show followed by a lively discussion.
Doherty’s presentation held the position that a community can’t build its way out of traffic congestion – growth supersedes road building and road building facilitates further growth. He suggested that, in the Southern Vancouver Island region, this was demonstrated by the road ‘improvements’ that took place to eliminate what is lovingly referred to as the Colwood Crawl – the traffic stand-still/crawl that happens on Hwy #1 and roads parallel to it heading into Victoria in the morning, and out again in the late afternoon . . .
Read full article www.saanichvoiceonline.ca/2017/07/04/moving-into-the-future/
If you stopped by our booth at our first Car Free Day Victoria on June 18, 2017, then you might have participated in our informal sticker survey. We loved chatting with everyone who stopped by and hearing some of your transit concerns in Greater Victoria- as well as many positive stories of transit experiences in the CRD!
Our (un)scientific survey results are very interesting! Some observations: Continue reading “Car Free Day: Survey Says…”
The Better Transit Alliance tries to send an observer to every Victoria Transit Commission meeting. And the last meeting was more eventful than usual, with some bad news which we reported to the media. The basic story is that, like most construction projects in the region these days, the price for the bus lanes was higher than hoped as all the construction companies are very busy. Unfortunately there was not a big enough contingency fund in place, and bus lane construction has been delayed.
We are going to be pushing all levels of government to step up to the plate and fund the Douglas / Highway 1 bus lanes all the way to the 6 Mile Pub area as soon as possible (even if it costs significantly more than it would have a few years ago). And we are optimistic that it will happen quickly; we think this can be completed within 24 months of municipal and provincial governments deciding to proceed. Here is some of the media coverage of the issue: Continue reading “Better Transit Alliance breaks story about bus lane delay”
The Better Transit Alliance was featured in the final of a three part series in the Goldstream News Gazette on transportation issues on Greater Victoria’s West Shore. The ‘West Shore on the Go’ series by Joel Tansey is a very worthwhile read, particularly Part 1 – Commuting transit riders want improved travel times
Continue reading “Better Transit Alliance featured in West Shore paper”
Better Transit Alliance member Eric Doherty interviewed by Zeb King for the Shaw Cable show Transparency about transit solutions for Greater Victoria. Watch the 25 minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvtvGHJIRzo
