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Cost Effective? $90,000 for roadwork project of minimal benefit, at the intersection of Sea View Rd. and Telegraph Bay Rd. in Cadboro Bay, leads to greater questions about the overall cost across Saanich of the so-called Active Transportation Plan estimated at a Quarter Billion Dollars.

Intersection of Sea View Rd. and Telegraph Bay Rd. in Cadboro Bay, District of Saanich


By Sasha Izard
March 28, 2026


A Saanich resident enquired as to the cost of a small stretch of roadwork at the intersection of Sea View Rd. and Telegraph Bay Rd. The response, for a project with minimal discernible benefit once completed, was jaw dropping. It cost the taxpayer close to $90,000.

On May 1, 2024 a Saanich resident asked the following question to Saanich Councillor Brice by email:

“I asked you if you were aware of the roadwork completed at the intersection of Seaview and Telegraph Bay Road. From my perspective as a resident on Ten Mile Point, I am curious about the reason for the construction and the cost. As a cyclist and motorist, the existing road worked perfectly.”

Brice forwarded his email to the engineering department the following day.

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This was the response from the Director of Engineering on May 3, 2024:

Councillor Brice forwarded your correspondence to me for reply. I can offer the following information related to the noted infrastructure improvements.

The bus stop and intersection improvements at the intersection of Telegraph Bay Road and Seaview Road were ranked highly for needing improvements based on several criteria:

• the wide crossing distances of Seaview Road (an in/out and separate slip lane) and Telegraph Bay Road (two travel lanes and two parking lanes),
• moderate pedestrian and vehicle volumes,
• location adjacent to a bus stop, and
• proximity to and ability to provide sidewalk access to amenities such as Cadboro-Gyro Beach, local schools, and Cadboro Bay Village.
  
  

Several residents had requested a crosswalk at the end of Tudor Ave, at the bend where Cadboro Bay Road becomes Telegraph Bay Road. As well as the reasons listed above, this location for the crosswalk was not chosen because of the distance from the bus stop, steep grade of Tudor Ave, and poor sightlines for drivers approaching the crosswalk around the bend of Cadboro Bay Road/Telegraph Bay Road.

The improvements installed include a new corner ramp and a mid-block ramp to improve accessibility, a new painted crosswalk to designate the crossing space and improve safety (visibility), closure of the slip lane, and an improved bus stop area. The closure of the slip lane provides many safety benefits including:

• When using a slip lane, drivers are typically looking left for approaching traffic to merge into and proceed without stopping. This can lead to pedestrians in the roadway not being seen or rear-end collisions due to the driver’s attention not being in front of them. With the new configuration drivers are required to fully stop at 90 degrees to Telegraph Bay Road and look in both directions before proceeding.
• Vehicles no longer cross the cyclist area (right side of the road) to access the slip lane,
• The crossing distance is reduced for pedestrians (a future connecting sidewalk is planned on east side of Telegraph Bay Road),
• Approaching cars and crossing pedestrians are at right angles instead of the car approaching from behind, and
• A physically separated pedestrian/cyclist area away from vehicle traffic has been created on a road lacking separate facilities.
  
  

Regards,

Harley Machielse, P.Eng.

Director of Engineering

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When the resident enquired as to the cost of the project, the Director of Engineering replied on May 4, 2024 with a terse:

“The project cost is $90k.”

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Intersection of the Sea View Rd. and Telegraph Bay Rd.

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Last month, I wrote the following article:

Feb 10, 2025 District of Saanich document showed Class ‘D’ Cost Estimates for Short and Medium Term Active Transportation Plan Projects – Totalling Above a Quarter Billion Dollars. – Sasha Izard

This was followed by a subsequent article:

No Transparency: The District of Saanich Doesn’t Keep Track of the Total Costs for the Estimated Quarter Billion Dollar: Active Transportation Plan – CRD Watch Homepage

“I asked the District of Saanich for the “Totals spent on the Active Transportation Plan and variants.“

The District responded: “there are no records in response to the specifics of your request.”

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I since inquired further into the matter as to how Saanich could not be tracking the costs of implementing the Active Transportation Plan.

The response from Saanich from the Senior Manager,

Transportation and Development Services Division of the Engineering Department – revealed behind a wave of verbiage, that the District was not keeping the totals spent on the estimated quarter billion dollar Active Transportation Plan.

The following was the response:

Dear Sasha,

This is in response to your email received on March 10, 2026, in which you requested a cost breakdown for the implementation of the District’s Active Transportation Plan (ATP).

The District does not track or record project expenditures in a manner that attributes costs specifically to ATP implementation as a distinct, standalone program. Instead, capital project costs are tracked and reported through the District’s annual Capital Plan (and associated project budgets) as approved by Council. Projects that may align with ATP objectives are delivered and accounted for within those approved capital projects.

You can find a link to the draft financial plan for 2026 and past plans here: The Financial Plan | District of Saanich

In addition, ATP-related work is typically planned and delivered in coordination with other corporate and external plans and programs with overlapping priorities, including (but not limited to):

• Asset rehabilitation / asset management (e.g., roadway renewal, sidewalks, curb ramps, traffic control devices)
• Land-use planning initiatives (e.g., Local Area Plans, Centres and Villages planning)
• BC Transit planning (e.g., BC Transit Future Plan and related service/infrastructure priorities)
• Road Safety Action Plan initiatives
• Safe Routes to School plans and projects
• Underground utilities coordination (timing and scope alignment with other agencies and District utility work)
  
  

These related initiatives are advanced through the same Council-approved capital planning and delivery processes, and costs are not separately tracked to each plan as standalone categories. As a result, the District does not have existing records that provide a consolidated cost breakdown of ATP implementation in the manner requested. Creating a new record or performing an analysis to allocate portions of capital project budgets to ATP implementation (or to distinguish ATP-related components from renewal, safety, land-use, transit, or utilities-driven scope) would require the District to generate new information, which is outside the scope of records available for disclosure.

Finally, it may be helpful to note that for many transportation projects, the majority of funding is directed to renewal and rehabilitation of existing assets, and any active transportation improvements are often delivered as part of an integrated project scope rather than as a distinct “ATP expense.”

Regards,

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See also:

LETTER: Secrecy surrounds pricey Saanich property purchase | Victoria News

Index of Articles and other material About ‘Active Transportation’ Planning – CRD Watch Homepage

Letter to Saanich Council by Roel Hurkens, on utility flat rate increases. – CRD Watch Homepage

A letter to Saanich Council by Alex Cook: “What is your legacy going to be?” – CRD Watch Homepage

Saanich Road Diet Hypocrisy – Video by Alex Cook – CRD Watch Homepage

Bike Lanes and Bollards, a Video Journey Concerning Saanich’s Recent Road Setup on Mann Ave and Surroundings by Alex Cook – CRD Watch Homepage

How the proposed “RapidBus” lanes in the Capital Region, including on McKenzie, were used as part of the UDI development lobby’s push for enforced densification/upzoning along rapid transit corridors, during their lobbying to David Eby in 2022 – CRD Watch Homepage

Thrown under the Bus: how so-called rapid transit is being used to force high density on communities, while greenwashing the developers’ for-profit agenda. – CRD Watch Homepage

FOI Request to BC Transit yields information about the UDI event: “Pathways to Progress: Uniting Land Use and Transit Strategies for Sustainable Growth” which took place the same day that Saanich adopted its new Official Community Plan and rendered its Local Area Plans legally non-binding. – CRD Watch Homepage

FOI reveals content of discussion regarding Bill 44 and ‘missing middle’ upzoning at the Union Club between Saanich Staff and the UDI, a registered lobbying organization that advances development/real estate interests. “For background, in June 2024, we rezoned approximately 25,000 lots in Saanich.” “Neighbours may not know until they see signs of construction”. “Saanich wanted similar outcomes as Province” – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles regarding proposed plans for Quadra/McKenzie and transit-enabled development upzoning. – CRD Watch Homepage