“Students are tired of taking a backseat when it comes to transit,” she said.
The groups put forward a motion to direct the commission’s chair to write to the minister of transportation and infrastructure in support of creating a voting student seat. The motion was defeated in a 6-2 vote.
Instead, the commission passed a motion directing staff to explore options for an educational advisory committee.
Lowan said students will continue advocating at a provincial level and are trying to arrange a meeting with Transportation Minister Rob Fleming. Creating a voting seat requires a change to the province’s Transit Act.
Highway 14 traffic has always whizzed by the southern wall of the pub within a few metres but all that is going to change.
The new highway will take an arc north of the 17 Mile for a four-lane stretch to Glinz Lake Road, removing dangerous curves and the difficult turn onto Gillespie Road. The improvements are also expected to trim commute times for Sooke’s growing population.
The current route past the pub will be repurposed as an extension to Connie Road. A westbound exit off the new highway will loop northeast of the 17 Mile around a pond and continue through an underpass beneath the new highway to provide a new route to Gillespie Road, taking vehicles through to Roche Cove and on to Metchosin and East Sooke.
VICTORIA British Columbia’s provincial government had pledged that people who are 80 years old and over and reside in the community would get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in February or March, but delays in vaccine supply have slowed things down somewhat. Still, B.C.’s Health Minister Adrian Dix said Friday that first doses for this highly vulnerable demographic could be expected by mid-March. “You can expect to be vaccinated between March 15 and the end of March,” said Dix, after noting that the lack of supply of the vaccines has been the only impediment to faster administration of the shots.
The affordable rental building will be geared to low-income individuals, seniors and families, while the supportive-housing project will target the growing homeless population in Sooke. Tait noted the price of real estate in Sooke, as in the rest of the south Island, is soaring, and many people have been priced out of the market, with few rental alternatives available. “There is a real need for affordable rental in this area,” she said. “It’s really welcome to provide safe places for individuals and families.” The rental building, a partnership of the province, M’akola Housing Society, the federal government and the Capital Regional District, is expected to open in 2022.
Mayor Maja Tait called donors’ generosity a “virtual hug for the community.”
“Sooke is a resilient community, with so much heart,” she said. “
As we look ahead to a new year, what a way to show heart with residents supporting each other through this campaign and contributions to the Sooke Food Bank.”
•To learn more about the Sooke Food Bank, go to foodbanksooke.org.
Find how how you can take action to help British Columbians living with dementia during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, throughout January.
Hosted by the Alzheimer Society of B.C., the annual campaign invites Victoria residents to hear stories of people affected by the disease throughout the month.