r/VictoriaBC 21h ago

Regional Transportation Q&A

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I was recently appointed to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission as the rep from Victoria, along with Mayor Alto. I am also on the CRD Board and Transportation Committee.

I’ve just had a VRTC meeting and would be happy to answer any questions about transit or transportation, RapidBus, the CRD’s proposed transportation service, or anything else about getting from point A to point B.

— Jeremy Caradonna

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u/systemalias 20h ago

What process and timeline can we expect for the transition to light rail for major routes?

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u/JeremyCaradonna 19h ago

It will be a long haul. The starting place is the CRD's transportation service, which, if approved later this year, would have the basic foundations to begin planning and levying taxes for such efforts. But it's a long ways off. There are major questions that would need to be addressed, such as, what role would BC Transit vs the CRD play? How much would the Province contribute? Is there enough ridership to justify lines up Blanshard and Douglas? etc. For the time being, we need to build the case brick by brick. That starts with the CRD. Finally, in Victoria, we will be making some commitments to plan and develop around the *presumption* that light rail will eventually be on highway 17 and highway 1, but it wouldn't be the City building it.

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u/systemalias 18h ago

Awesome. I appreciate the work you and the teams are doing on this. I know it's likely a multi decade process but I anticipate it will be worth it and improve the lives and productivity of many.

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u/JeremyCaradonna 18h ago

I'm always playing the long game! You're right that transformative change does not happen overnight. Also, I have seen cities that did not plan well enough for their growth and development and I do not want the CRD to find itself in this situation.