Rethinking Traffic As Usual

Monday, November 20, 7 to 9 pm; Edward Milne Community School, 6218 Sooke Road

Our 2018 Speaker Series’ continues this Monday night in the library at Edward Milne Community School with Eric Doherty, a Registered Transportation Planner with Victoria consultancy firm Ecopath Planning and a founding member of the Better Transit Alliance of Greater Victoria.

Doherty will look at the big picture of regional transportation in adding further context to a perennial hot topic addressed this year in both the provincial election campaign and the ongoing #DividedBy14 campaign launched by the Sooke Juan de Fuca Working Group of local business owners.

Once Doherty has completed his talk, the floor will be open for discussion about the realities and potential of transportation and transit services as we make our way (mostly by automobile) to and fro on the South Island. The challenges are clear, but what are our options now and in the future?

Doherty’s talk will serve as a prelude to the expected release of a long-awaited BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure report on continuing upgrades to our winding road home (which is blocked in part for an annual average of four hours per week due to accidents, according to local emergency response authorities).

Mayor Tait announced recently that BC Transit representatives will be scheduling a once-every-five-year public forum in Sooke next year to field community views and opinions.

As a planner, Doherty specializes in practical approaches to reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while improving the livability of communities. He integrates diverse experience from community and regional planning, environmental consulting and engineering.

Transportation is the second-largest contributor to climate pollution in Canada. Carbon emissions from transportation increased 32 percent between 1990 and 2014 nationally. In Sooke, auto traffic produces more than two-thirds of the municipality’s total GHG emissions annually according to Province of BC statistics.

Business as usual is not an option, argues Doherty. The good news is that there are examples of other population centres (like Zurich, Switzerland, for example) that have transformed their transportation systems remarkably quickly and created healthier, more livable communities.

Admission, as ever, is free or by small donation.