ACS member Esquimalt Anglers’ Association wrote this letter to our provincial government with concerns regarding the Proposed handyDART facility in Town of View Royal.
Despite assurances and guarantees to the contrary, degradation of stream habitat and contamination through sedimentation continues to occur during construction of infrastructure projects. One has only to look at the McKenzie Avenue interchange where several such incidences have occurred. This past August there were two stop work orders issued for the sewage treatment project pipeline crossing of Colquitz River at Marigold and Interurban. This was a result of an environmental management plan which failed to avoid excessive sedimentation of the fish bearing waters.
Letter to BC Minister of Transportation & Infrastructure Claire Trevena from Esquimalt Anglers’ Association.
The Minister’s Office recently responded by email, the contents of which are reproduced here:
288863 – Proposed handyDART facility in Town of View Royal Dear Mr. Zaccarelli, Thank you for your email regarding BC Transit’s plan to construct handyDART facilities in the Town of View Royal. As you likely know, increased ridership and investments in new transit fleets have made it imperative that BC Transit construct a new handyDART facility. Without this facility, transit service within the Victoria Regional Transit System—conventional or handyDART—cannot continue to expand. Greater Victoria has limited space for new or expanded commercial and industrial development. After careful, considered analysis, BC Transit recommended provincially-owned land at the View Royal location as the best option. BC Transit is committed to engaging with View Royal staff on the handyDART facility’s design, possible improvements and environmental protections. Furthermore, BC Transit has committed that the facility’s designer will be contractually obligated to ensure the project meets all View Royal’s existing bylaw requirements, as well as other provincial and regulatory requirements, including streamside protection and enhancement areas. This is a critical project. The new facility will ensure BC Transit can efficiently maintain and operate fleet to support nearly 400,000 annual handyDART trips and 26 million annual conventional transit trips across the region. Thank you for taking the time to write. Yours sincerely, Claire Trevena Minister Copy to: Premier John Horgan Honourable George Heyman Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy MLA, Vancouver-Fairview Mitzi Dean MLA, Esquimalt-Metchosin
We remain hopeful but skeptical that this project can be completed and the handyDART facility operated without any negative impact to the salmonid habitat of Craigflower Creek.