The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is holding an open house for local residents to outline options for safety and mobility improvements at the Highway 17/Sayward Road intersection. The open house is Wednesday, Feb. 29 at Cordova Bay Community Place.

Options currently being considered are:

• Construction of an acceleration lane to go north from Sayward Road. This will allow northbound traffic from Sayward to merge safely with highway traffic.

• Construction of a deceleration lane for northbound traffic to exit onto Sayward, as well as a new pedestrian island. This will let traffic turn safely onto Sayward without disrupting highway traffic.

• Relocation of the exiting transit stop on the north side of Sayward to the south side. Relocating this bus stop will allow the buses to pull out of traffic safely with less disruption to traffic than the current configuration.

• Installation of a vehicle-activated "congestion ahead" flashing light in advance of the intersection to warn northbound drivers of congested conditions when applicable. This warning light will be similar to what is in place at Beacon Avenue for ferry traffic leaving Swartz Bay.

These options reflect the contributions of the Sayward Safety Improvements Working Group, comprised of BC Transit, District of Saanich councillors, the Cordova Bay Community Association, local businesses and other community leaders. The ministry appreciates the hard work of everyone involved.

The open house feedback will contribute to the final design decisions on future intersection safety improvements.

Quotes:

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom -

"This assessment of the Pat Bay/Sayward Road intersection is part of the ministry's ongoing review of the Highway 17 corridor between Victoria and Swartz Bay. Some good short- to medium-term safety improvements have been identified and we look forward to the public's input as we work to improve the safety of this corridor."

Saanich North and the Islands MLA Murray Coell -

"Our government looks forward to hearing the public's input on the improvements to this key transportation corridor. Keeping families safe is a key priority for this government and I think these improvements go a long way towards achieving that."

Quick Facts:

The public can get details of these potential improvements at the Sayward Road Safety Improvements Public Information Session:

Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cordova Bay Community Place
5238 Cordova Bay Rd.

Learn More:

Learn more about the work of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure online at: www.tranbc.ca

Contact:

Kate Trotter
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
250 356-8241