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1. Do you support re-aligning municipal and regional transportation plans and investments to meet the provincial government’s CleanBC target to “reduce distances travelled in light-duty vehicles by 2030 compared to 2020″?
Yes, I am very supportive of prioritizing non-motorized travel to reduce vehicle dependency. We can make it easier, safer and more convenient to get around without a vehicle by creating priority transit lanes, building more protected bike lanes that form a complete commuting network (not just single corridors), introducing residential speed limits to make it safer for people to walk in their neighbourhoods, and building walking infrastructure in Saanich neighbourhoods (most of which were built in the 70s, 80s, and 90s without sidewalks). We can also update our neighbourhood zones to allow for local businesses like coffee shops and corner stores in our neighbourhoods. Building 15-min neighbourhoods means more people can access the services they need without having to get in the car.
2. Do you support making the default speed limit 30 km/h for streets without centrelines, as Saanich has already committed to doing?
Yes. Saanich should introduce a 30km/h residential speed limit. Council unanimously supported a pilot project with the Ministry of Transportation in 2021. When that did not go forward, the Ministry told Saanich it could proceed on its own (and that it would not require installation of signage on every residential street). Instead, Mayor and Council voted in favour of a two-phase study that added further delays to urgently needed road safety. As Mayor, I will prioritize road safety and work with Council to introduce a 30 km/h residential speed limit.
3. Do you commit to budgeting sufficient funds to accelerate the Saanich 2018 Active Transportation Plan?
Yes, Saanich’s 30-year active transportation plan is a great plan but should be implemented in a much shorter timeline. My kids are ten and thirteen years old. At the current pace, they’ll be grown adults with their own children before the plan is finished. We need dedicated annual funding to support building active transportation infrastructure. During my 10 years on Council, we grew the infrastructure replacement budget for $3 million per year to $30 million with a dedicated annual budget increase of 0.75%. That meant we could provide significant investment without a major shock to the tax bill. A similar dedicated approach will be effective for our active transportation infrastructure.
4. Do you support using neighbourhood-wide traffic calming to create low traffic neighbourhoods with much lower traffic volume with quick build materials?
Yes, low traffic neighbourhoods are safer, more welcoming places for people to get around walking, biking or rolling. It contributes to a higher quality of life and enjoyment of place.
5. How would you support making walking safer and more enjoyable in Saanich?
We can create accessible, walking neighbourhoods by creating proper walking infrastructure (including sidewalks and walking paths), reducing vehicle speeds and reducing vehicle traffic. We can also create more walkable destinations by updating our neighbourhood zones to allow for local businesses like coffee shops and corner stores in our neighbourhoods. Building 15-min neighbourhoods means more people can access the services they need without having to get in the car. Walkable, accessible neighbourhoods contribute to a higher quality of life and enjoyment of place.
6. Do you support building a network of all ages and abilities (“AAA”) bike and roll routes throughout Saanich?
Yes, our biking network should be accessible to everyone, including children, older adults and people with disabilities. It is important that these bike lanes form a network that connects cycling commuters to major centres, trails and bike infrastructure outside of Saanich (like the City of Victoria, Oak Bay and Esquimalt).
7. Do you support welcoming people who use wheelchairs and mobility scooters to use all ages and abilities (AAA) bike and roll routes?
Yes, our biking network should be accessible to everyone, including children, older adults and people with disabilities.
8. Do you support rapidly completing 24/7 bus lanes along McKenzie to UVic for BC Transit’s proposed RapidBus route, as well as similar measures along all proposed RapidBus routes in Saanich?
Yes, I am supportive of creating more efficient transit service on major corridors like McKenzie. Reallocation of road space for higher frequency and more efficient service will make transit a more attractive option for more travelers. We must also work with BC Transit, the Ministry of Transportation and CRD to make the Uptown transit hub a reality. The uptown-douglas centre is the cross-roads of the south island. A transit hub in that location would be a dramatic improvement for transit service in our region. Moving forward with a transit hub should be a priority.
9. With the court-imposed deadline of March 14, 2023 to keep the Island Rail Corridor intact, how would you support modern rail service for Vancouver Island?
As Mayor, I will work with our regional partners and senior governments to ensure modern rail service becomes a reality on the island. Saanich is the largest municipality in our region and needs to work collaboratively with regional partners to bring the Province to the table for transportation investments. This includes lobbying for a transportation authority on the south island. A transportation authority’s mandate would include modern rail service.
10. Do you support making transit fares more affordable, both by reducing the cost of passes and individual fares and free or discounted passes for youth, seniors, and people living on low incomes?9
I support affordable fares, including free fares for youth age 16 and under (the province currently provides free fares to youth 12 and under), as well as discounted fares for seniors and people living on low income. We can ensure transit is attractive to more people with a combination of affordable fares and high quality, efficient service.
11. Do you support removing the requirements for off-street vehicle parking from new and infill developments while adding requirements for car share, EV charging, bike and other micromobility parking, as well as expanding accessible parking?
Yes, reducing or eliminating off-street parking requirements would remove a major barrier to affordability for housing projects. We can relieve tensions around parking by ensuring that car share, EV charging, bike parking and accessible parking is made available in all new and infill developments.
12. How would you activate and bring more people into public spaces within Saanich, including sidewalks, public squares, streets and parks?
We can update our neighbourhood zones to allow for more walkable, accessible destinations like coffee shops and corner stores in our neighbourhoods. These are neighbourhood destinations where people can get together with friends, family and neighbours. Building 15-min neighbourhoods means more people can access the services they need without having to get in the car. We can also update our parks and public spaces with washroom facilities and water fountains. If we want to encourage people to gather and spend time, we need to ensure there are appropriate facilities that mean they can spend time. We can include the creation of amenity space and public art as part of major infrastructure projects. So improvements that benefit road users also contribute to a higher quality of life and enjoyment of place.
13. Do you support adding substantively more accessible public bathrooms across Saanich?
Yes, we need to update our parks and public spaces with washroom facilities and water fountains. If we want to encourage people to gather and spend time, we need to ensure there are appropriate facilities that mean they can spend time in our public places.
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