Correspondence from S. Ghanem Re: 2401 Burnside Road W. - handyDART Site

View Royal HandyDART facility

Attention: Minister Claire Trevena and Premier John Horgan

Copies to: Ms. Mitzi Dean; Mr. John Screech and Mr. George Ghanem

Hon. Claire Trevena and Premier John Horgan,

If any of you would live where I am located, you would be among the many voices of the residents of View Royal questioning the decision of locating the HandyDART facility in a non-commercial and non-industrial development area.

I live on Highland Rd — Our whole area has only one single emergency evacuation route, with no other alternative and we are surrounded by hectares of forest. We are dependent on Watkiss way and Burnside rd, and these 1 lane country-style roads are already at maximum capacity. All of the 1 lane country-style roads: Wilkinson, West Burnside, Helmcken converge into that intersection of Watkiss Way/Burnside East towards Old Island Highway. Add to this the commuters coming from downtown, the passengers from the Ferry (using the exit Royal Oak & 1 lane Wilkinson/Burnside), with everyone aiming for Metchosin, Sooke, Happy Valley, Langford, Coldwood and the Malahat.

During daily rush hours, the traffic is at a stand-still up to the corner of Watkiss way and Burnside rd. If the Malahat or other routes are closed, traffic on Burnside becomes impossible.

There is no more room for emergency vehicles, and our area has no other emergency exit routes.

Adding to our residential area the 100+ HandyDART (400,000 annual trips), plus the vehicles the BC transit employees will be using to get to their work place, the government is putting the safety of the View Royal residents at risk, and this includes the access to emergency healthcare at the Victoria General Hospital.

We urge you to hear our voices, and not place the HandyDart depot at that location.

To place a face to our names, my husband George is Deputy of Emergency Radio Communications for View Royal, and their mandate is to prepare and set-up emergency preparedness for our residents, which includes access routes. I, Sylvie, am a View Royal Consultant for the View Royal Seniors Transportation Support Service (now called STRIDE) and was invited by Sarah Bradley (now retired) to the Pacific Centre Family Services Association for discussions on the needs of our community.

I am also a strong supporter of public transit, here is the Goldstream Gazette article related to me: https://www.goldstreamgazette.com/news/west-shore-on-the-go-part-2-of-3-service-gaps-make-transit-tough-on-some-riders/

If you need to talk to us, or need our help, please reach out to us,

With warm regards,

Sylvie Ghanem Admin Consultant & Private French Tutor 2255 Highland rd Victoria BC V9B 6H8