01/16/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16oUSqhxHC/
Vancouver Island is dealing with Late Stage Car-Centric Development
There’s a point in every growing region where car-centric planning hits its limits. Rights-of-way are maxed out. Intersections are wider than the buildings beside them, and there’s no room left for “just one more lane.” Calls to relieve the resulting heavy congestion increases pressure on the government to invest ever increasing amounts of money into highway projects. Those projects, as we saw with the $100 million McKenzie Interchange and the $84 million Sooke double lanes, only end up maintaining the status quo because by the time finished, traffic has gotten worse again!
That’s where rail, transit, and complete streets stop being “nice ideas” and start being practical solutions. Building for the next generation means recognizing when and where the old model no longer fits.
The Island's geography, sporting over 150 named mountain peaks, doesn't support another highway. The level of investment required to create another one would be on par with the Coquihalla, costing 10's of billions! The Environmental impacts would be catastrophic and that would not go over well with island residents who are protective of the island's wetlands, watersheds, streams, rivers, and riparian zones.
Two recent studies put anticipated ridership on the Vancouver Island rail corridor from 1.6 million to 2 million trips annually, growing as time goes on and the population expands.
Travel times are expected to double over the next 10-15 years due to extreme levels of congestion, and this corridor is positioned to be the relief we need.
Restore Island Rail
https://restoreislandrail.com
