Documents provided in advance of Tuesday’s Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) meeting indicate that the construction of Douglas Street’s bus-only lanes has been put on hold.
Inflated costs seem to be the cause of the delay, with the lowest construction bid approximately 30 percent over budget.
“An analysis of the bid responses identified that the high costs were due to the unusually high level of construction work occurring in the region at this time,” the document states. “This has impacted the availability of workers and also materials such as concrete and asphalt”
Transit’s priorities called into question
However, Eric Doherty, a member of the Better Transit Alliance of Greater Victoria, isn’t satisfied with the decision. “Usually if it’s a high priority project, you suck it up and pay the extra money and get it done,” said Doherty. “In this case, [the VRTC) is showing that transit isn’t really the priority in the region.”
Despite wording in the document that seems to suggest the project’s cancellation, Douglas St will likely still see its bus-only lanes.
The project will be “re-tendered” in the fall of 2017 when the cost of construction could be lower.
Small Changes Expected
In the meantime, BC Transit will be working with Urban Systems, the City, MoTI, and the District of Saanich to improve signage and lane markings in the area.
According to the document, “The first round of improvements will include a thicker double-width painted line delineating the bus lane from the general purpose lane, more frequent thermoplastic diamonds with the wording “Bus Only” painted on the lane, and the existing overhead signs will be replaced identifying 24-hour bus lane operation.”
