Downtown Victoria businesses call for pause on bus lane expansion

The Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) and Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce (GVCC) are calling for a pause on any further bus lanes. 

Furthermore, the two organizations want to convert the new bus lane that travels from Discovery Street in Victoria to Colwood into an high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane.

Both of these requests fall to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission. 

The DVBA and DVCC want any and all downtown bus-only lane expansions to be paused in order for current travel patterns, expected demand and the economic effects on downtown businesses to be analyzed and reviewed. 

They say this would allow current evidence to inform future transportation decisions.

The DVBA and DVCC also say that changing the bus lane to an HOV lane would continue to prioritize buses while encouraging carpooling and making better use of available road capacity. 

They noted that bus-stop insets could be utilized where needed to protect reliable transit for commuters. 

According to the organizations, the main concern is that the bus lane was implemented based on a regional transit plan that was developed in 2011, prior to the pandemic reshaping commuting patterns, office occupancy, population growth and where businesses are located. 

Both of these requests and any transportation decision made by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission have a direct impact on not only commuters, but also downtown businesses, say the DVBA and DVCC. 

They noted that congestion has worsened in the past several years, which impacts those whose work cannot easily be shifted to another time or mode. This includes emergency services, deliveries, couriers, taxis, tradespeople and service providers. 

“Downtown remains the economic, cultural and civic centre of the region, and people need reasonable ways to get here,” said Jeff Bray, CEO of the Downtown Victoria Business Association. 

“We support better transit. We also need to make sure transportation decisions at the regional level and the local level support access for employees, customers and the businesses that depend on the efficient movement of goods and services throughout the downtown and the region.”

John Wilson, CEO of the DVCC added that the organizations support more reliable transit and a range of transportation services, but some issues with how these are implemented remain. 

“Our concern is with the loss of yet another vehicle lane into downtown Victoria,” Wilson said. 

The organizations believe the goal of the transportation review should be to create a system that supports reliable transit, efficient goods movement and reasonable access to employment centres, including the downtown Victoria hub.