April 1, 2008 - Estimates Debate: Ministry of Transportation Estimates
J. Horgan: It's a pleasure to participate again this year in the estimates of the Ministry of Transportation. At the outset I want to say that my relationship and the relationship of my staff in both Cobble Hill and Langford with regional staff in the ministry is excellent. I want the minister to be aware that phone calls are returned very quickly. Any issues out on the road, whether it be with road maintenance and some of the challenges that that faces in my constituency.... There's always a friendly voice at the end of the line and at least a sincere effort to try and accommodate the needs of my constituents. I want him to know that I appreciate that and so do the people in my community.
But having said that, there are a number of irritants, and he would be aware of many of those. I don't have a whole lot of time at my disposal because of the truncated estimates process this year.
There are a range of issues that I want to touch upon, starting above the Malahat. That would be an area called Renfrew Road, and attaching to that is Weeks road. The minister's staff will certainly be aware of some of the many challenges we have there. That's a road that interfaces with forestry roads. It's a public road that runs into a forestry road. There is a dispute over ownership of a portion of that. I'm wondering if the minister's staff have at their fingertips what the status of that dispute between TimberWest and the ministry...? Where that's at?
Hon. K. Falcon: For some reason, that is ringing a bell in my mind. I don't know. Have you written me on that, or has there been some...?
J. Horgan: Yes.
Hon. K. Falcon: Oh, maybe that's why. I just have a faint recollection of the issue, but I'm sorry to say that my staff aren't aware of the details of that right now. But what I can do is.... If I haven't responded to you in letter format yet, we can make sure we follow up and get you an answer.
J. Horgan: Well, there were two parts to the question. One was the status of the dispute between the forest company and the government. The other was the prospect of paving or, at a minimum, some form of chip seal on Weeks road - which I haven't discussed with the minister, so I'll just flag that. I see staff writing that down.
Weeks road and Renfrew Road - very contentious in the community, big challenges and lots of interaction, as I said, with regional staff on the issues. I think that it ultimately comes down to finding available dollars to try and find some fixes there. Then there's the conflict between TimberWest and the government. That's certainly in the hands of your solicitors, and I was just hoping for an update.
The other issue, of course, before I get down below the Malahat, would be the Malahat corridor itself. The minister will know that Stantec and the ministry completed a review last summer. We are now looking at another summer driving season. We've had a number of accidents since the report was received.
I'm wondering if the minister could update me and my constituents on what progress we can expect to see on improvements to the Malahat with respect to safety, with respect to RapidBus and - a personal favourite of mine - better lighting on those very, very dark nights up on the top of the hill.
Hon. K. Falcon: The member is correct. We invested a significant amount of dollars in the report that the member refers to. The report confirmed that the Malahat is safe and that it's got a crash rate well below the provincial average. In spite of that, we know that there are always things that we can do to improve, particularly, safety, which is always my priority in the ministry on corridors like the Malahat.
Since 2001 we have invested just over $9 million - I think it's $9.2 million - on improvements, primarily safety improvements, on the Malahat - extending the median barrier, the electronic changeable signs, pullouts and those kind of things. As we go forward, we're going to work on two things.
One is that we're in discussions with B.C. Transit about what kinds of transit options may be possible along that corridor. But we've still got some work to do in that regard.
We are going to work on implementing the safety recommendations that form part of the report, including the addition of highly reflective markings - which in part deals with one of the issues that the member mentioned. There are highly reflective pavement markings that can be utilized. That will allow you, when driving, to have your lights pick up a much stronger reflective marking, as a result of the reflective pavement marking that we utilize.
We'll extend the median barriers where appropriate. There are challenges in certain areas - as the member would well know - because of the narrowness of the corridor and the fact that we have got park on both sides. We'll construct pullouts for use by RCMP for enforcement, because we do believe that some of the accidents that do take place are a result of irresponsible driving and speeding.
U-turn facilities, where that's practical, to provide people the option so that in the event of an accident or something that blocks traffic, they have the ability to turn around.... I think a large part of the frustration for many folks is when they get trapped on the Malahat.
We're going to install more cameras to monitor road conditions. We have done a massive expansion of traffic cameras throughout the province of British Columbia. As a result of that, drivebc.ca is the most popular site in government. It's utilized very, very strongly.
We will make sure that we add more cameras on the Malahat, and we're going to upgrade weather monitoring capabilities so that we've got a better handle on what the weather conditions are along the entire Malahat corridor. We think that moving forward with those recommendations will have the desired effect in terms of safety.
Depending on how our conversation with B.C. Transit goes, if we are able to ultimately bring about some form of transit along that corridor, I also think that would be a very positive outcome. We've still got some discussions and some work to do in that regard, but as I say, I'm proud of the investments we've made in the Malahat - over $9 million since we were elected. We'll continue to make investments to ensure that it not only maintains the safe record that it has but actually improves upon the crash record.
J. Horgan: Certainly, if one is planning a trip, Drive B.C. is a very useful tool, but if you're on the Malahat and the truck in front of you turns over, you're stuck for hours and hours. The challenge for most of the people who live in my community who commute or use the corridor for economic purposes or for recreation is the reliability issue.
There are no other ways to get out of Victoria if you're on the Trans-Canada Highway. That was really the fundamental issue. I mean, we can quibble about safety and crash statistics and so on. I know the minister has those readily available. I don't want to get into a debate on that. I take him at his word and the report's word that the crash rate is at or below the average.
But it is a daunting road on a November evening, and that's not unique in British Columbia. I understand that. Our topography does not lend itself to leisurely drives on cold November nights. But for those of us on southern Vancouver Island wanting to get out of the capital city, it's a significant challenge once that traffic disruption occurs. All the signage in the world, all of the websites in the world, all the cameras in the world don't help you when you're stuck and you can't turn around and you've got nowhere to go.
I'm just wondering, in terms of dealing with B.C. Transit looking at public transportation options, if the minister has contemplated...? I guess that this is a natural segue down the hill into Langford and into the city. Has the minister reviewed the report by the Communities for Commuter Rail as well as the Island Corridor Foundation with respect to utilizing the E&N corridor to get cars off the road and to improve the reliability up and down Vancouver Island?
Hon. K. Falcon: The member will know that that - in reference to the most recent study that I think the member is referring to, on utilizing the E&N essentially from Langford in - is something that staff is currently in the process of reviewing. There are some significant questions that need to be looked into and may ultimately require a lot more homework in terms of ridership and costs. But at the end of the day our goal is to try and maximize in whatever....
Wherever we invest provincial dollars, it's a pretty straightforward decision, as far as I'm concerned. It's whatever will provide the highest possible ridership at the most efficient cost to the taxpayers. Obviously, we want to maximize the taxpayer investment.
We're still in the process of reviewing that, and more work needs to be done. As the member would know, the corridor study talked about the option from, essentially, Cowichan over the top of the Malahat in. I think the member would know that the recommendation was that it would be far better to try and service transit demand through the use of buses. That's why we are currently in discussions with B.C. Transit to see what kind of busing options could help meet that demand as the report recommended.
J. Horgan: I thank the minister for his response.
