TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT: ISLAND HWY & HELMCKEN RD TRANSIT CORRIDOR CLASSIFICATION

ISLAND HWY & HELMCKEN RD TRANSIT CORRIDOR CLASSIFICATION

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek guidance from Council regarding the ultimate transit classification for two sections of the Island Highway and Helmcken Road, to be forwarded to BC Transit as part of their Regional Corridor Strategy update.

OPTIONS:

• Option #1 (Recommended): THAT Council direct staff to confirm to BC Transit that the transit service classification for both (1) the Island Highway, between Burnside Road West to Helmcken Road, and (2) Helmcken Road, between Watkiss Way and Burnside Road West, remain as frequent transit classifications.
• Option #2: THAT Council direct staff to confirm to BC Transit that the frequent transit classification be removed for both (1) the Island Highway, between Burnside Road West to Helmcken Road, and (2) Helmcken Road, between Watkiss Way and Burnside Road West.
• Option #3: THAT Council decide to remove either (1) the Island Highway, between Burnside Road West to Helmcken Road, OR (2) Helmcken Road, between Watkiss Way and Burnside Road West, from frequent transit classification, and direct staff to confirm this to BC Transit accordingly.

TIME CRITICAL:

BC Transit’s Regional Corridor Strategy will be submitted to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission (VRTC) in June 2024 for endorsement. It is important to forward BC Transit the Town’s position on transit classification for these two sections of the Island Hwy and Helmcken Road well before this date.

ALIGNMENT WITH TOWN INITIATIVES:

The recommended option aligns with the following Town strategies and initiatives:

BACKGROUND & SUMMARY OF ISSUE:

BC Transit is in the process of updating its Regional Corridor Strategy, anticipating submission to the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in mid June 2024. BC Transit has reached out to consult with the Town on confirming the future transit service classifications for sections of its two major roads:

1. Island Highway – from the Colwood Interchange to Helmcken Road
2. Helmcken Road – from Watkiss Way to Burnside Road West (due to the District of Saanich removing the classification along Wilkinson Rd)

Transit classification for these two roads are currently identified as Frequent Transit Routes. A Frequent Transit Route is defined as a route that operates at a minimum 15-minute frequency over a specific span of service.

BC Transit currently observes challenges in providing a level of service indicative of a Frequent Transit Route for these two roads. The challenges are twofold:

1. There exists congestion and transit delays that impact the physical feasibility of achieving frequent transit service;
2. “Significant densification” in the short term within these roadways are limited and/or insufficient to warrant intensive investment for BC Transit to provide the indicative level of service.

BC Transit identified ‘significant densification’ as development indicative of the creation of a Town Centre (i.e. full buildout of the Fort Victoria region). Developments any smaller and incremental developments would not generally warrant a frequent transit service in the short term (although that would be re-evaluated from time to time).

As a result, BC Transit requested to consult with the Town of View Royal to confirm whether to (1) remove the Frequent Transit Route designation for these sections of the Island Highway and Helmcken Road, or (2) keep the Frequent Transit Route designation.

ANALYSIS – COMMUNITY IMPACT:

Staff recommend that the Frequent Transit Route designation remain for these sections of the Island Hwy and Helmcken Rd. The reasons are both transportation and planning based:

Transportation Based Reasoning:

• BC Transit’s Rapid Bus “Blink” program can create a spillover effect of increasing nearby transit demand, especially for the Island Hwy and Helmcken Rd corridors. This would be further magnified by a future mobility hub planned by the province and located within close proximity of the Island Hwy.
• BC Transit’s Regional Corridor Strategy is a long-term document and should align with current transportation master planning instead of older plans and anecdotal observations. It is recommended to maintain the existing classification until the Town’s Official Community Plan and Transportation Master Plans are updated (1-2 year forecast) at which time classification can be reviewed.
• Regarding Helmcken Road, frequent transit service would benefit the Hospital neighbourhood given the densification that is currently occurring (Erskine Lane, etc.). Land use and transportation demand in View Royal is very much different in this region than the District of Saanich’s position for Wilkinson Rd. Therefore, transit demand should be treated differently than the District of Saanich’s position.

Planning Based Reasoning:

• The Official Community Plan (OCP) identifies these sections of the Island Hwy and Helmcken Road to be within neighbourhood centres (community corridors featuring local commercial and multifamily uses). OCP policy states that these neighbourhoods should support a connected multi-modal transportation network that encourage walking, cycling and transit use. Providing a higher level of service for the future shifts the modes of transportation from the personal vehicle to other options, thus reducing automobile demand for the neighbourhood.
• There are no implications to land use as a result of Provincial Bills 44 and 47 because 15-minute service cannot be feasibly provided due to traffic congestion. Significant investment or multi-modal change to either of these road corridors would be required to make 15-minute peak service feasible: currently, additional vehicular lanes are not supported for these road corridors, making 15-minute peak service impossible at this time.
• Further to the above point regarding the Provincial Bills, nearly all of the properties along both corridors are exempt from the Bills because the OCP land use designations support denser development along these thoroughfares. The provision of improved transit service and the success of neighbourhood centres are interrelated.
• Through staff consultation with BC Transit, the demand for 15-minute service would not be triggered until the long-term buildout of these neighbourhood centres is achieved. Therefore, the Town would have the benefit of the frequent transit classification without triggering provincial bill related land use changes.

There are considerations / benefits that Council should be aware of if Council wishes to remove the Frequent Transit Route classification:

• The Town could remove the frequent transit classification now and request for it to be reinstated in the future: Classification adjustments are open to be revised in the future based on planned changes to roadways to mitigate congestion / prioritize transit, or if there are major changes to development intensity necessitating higher service levels (e.g. to the scale of a new town centre at Fort Victoria).
• There can still be significant service along these road corridors: There are corridors within the region that are not considered frequent transit that have 20-30min peak service. Therefore, there would still be potential to improve Island Hwy and Helmcken Rd to 20-30min peak service.
• There would be no short term changes to level of service: BC Transit currently have no clear short-term plans to develop a frequent transit service along these roadways. Level of service today would reflect the same level of service prior to removing the frequent transit classification.

SUSTAINABILITY/CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS:

Maintaining a long-term plan for frequent transit helps foster active transportation within the Town, thus encouraging transportation use beyond the personal vehicle and help reduce GHG emissions.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

There are no financial implications with respect to the options and recommendations identified in this report.

CONCLUSION:

BC Transit required guidance from the Town of View Royal to confirm the Town’s desires for transit along specific sections of the Island Hwy and Helmcken Rd. This was required of BC Transit in order to finalize its Regional Corridor Strategy.

Although these sections of the Island Hwy and Helmcken Rd are currently classified as a Frequent Transit Route, transit does not operate with this level of service given the roadways’ physical limitations and current demand. However, staff recommend that the current classification be maintained because it is better master planning to do so, and the benefits of maintaining the classification outweigh the benefits of removing the classification.

CONCURRENCE:

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