Se News TheReview Wednesday, March 14,1990 — A992 The ferry terminal upgrade by Glenn Werkman The Review A $34-million upgrade of the B.C. Ferries Swartz Bay terminal will use Crown land west of the terminal for expansion, Highways Minister Rita Johnston announced Thursday. Major changes are planned for the ferry terminal — including the relocation of the terminal building closer to ferry docks, doubling the capacity of the marshalling area, increasing the pay parking area by 70 per cent and increasing the foot-passenger drop-off area by 50 per cent, Johnston said. Two more ticket booths will be added and all the ticket booths for vehicle passengers will be moved northeast, farther onto terminal land. Ferries’ tentative plan has drawn adamant opposition from the _ Lands End Residents’ Association. ~ The ferry corporation has come up with a huge land grab and we°ve been told they’re not prepared to back down from it,” said Michael Coney, a member of the North Saanich liaison committee representing Lands End residents. Coney said B.C. Ferries wants to “dig a huge chunk out of the west side, which will bring a cliff within 50-100 feet from people’s property.” The plans pose a particular problem for residents along Salem Terrace, Neptune Road and Trident Place, he said. “Those residents are facing a very big environmental problem which could have been solved if the ferry corporation had built a patkade,” Coney said. “They’ve simply put dollars before people and the environment, and they’ve made it very clear that we’re not going to get very far.” Coney said: “It now becomes apparent that as far as the B.C. Ferry Corporation is concerned, the (liaison) committee is a sham.” Curteis Point representative George Grover said B.C. Ferries’ plans call for the terminal footprint to be expanded by seven acres. B.C. Feries’ public relations manager Bill Bouchard said: “We sull have to work with specifics. It’s a major change, getting passenger facilities closer to the ships.” Bouchard said B.C. Ferries will go to the Ministry of Crown Lands to have the land, currently zoned A-4, excluded from ALR regulations. He said Ferries personnel have discussed a restrictive covenant placed on about 12 acres of Crown land just west of the terminal property with its former owner, Rhys Davis. “We hope we're close to the drawing board now,” Bouchard Said. Davis, contacted Monday, said: “We are protecting people who live in the area. The timber will conceal the activity in the parking lot. “When we look at it itll be the same as it always was,” Davis said. He plans to continue to live on about seven acres of property with a house and other buildings. Coney said the difference in cost between building a parkade and expansion of the terminal land is not great. North Saanich Ald. Art McKinnon, a liaison committee member, said B.C. Ferries won’t start with a parkade right away, but ultimately one will be built. Ellis Meads, B.C. Ferries assistant general manager of terminal operations and also a liaison committee member, was unavailable for comment Monday. HE’S LIVE! and He’s Back! March 8, 9,10 & 15, 16, 17th lf you like the Golden Oldies _ from the 60’s & 70’s this show is a must for you! oy VA ? ‘Alook atthe intersections’. The department of Highways is looking at 22 intersections on the Pat Bay Highway as part of its upgrade to complete expressway Standard. Project director Gregg Singer said not all the intersections are part of the planning strategy now but all will be looked at in the four-year project designed to han- dle traffic volumes for the next 25 years. Starting at the north end of the Peninsula, going south, an inter- change will handle the initial flow of traffic from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal in a design identi- fied as Alternative K — most similar to Alternative C presented at public information meetings held in North Saanich. Alternative K doesn’t swoop through property adjacent to Canoe Cove Marina on the east side of the terminal, as Alternative € did. The Wain Road highway inter- section will remain controlled by traffic lights. McDonald Park Road will likely be closed off sometime in the future and the John Road highway. access on the west side of the highway has yet to be addressed. It may remain as a merge lane for southbound traffic access. The Beacon Avenue interchange will be built in a major loop design, close to the design pre- sented at Sidney public informa- tion meetings. It’s scheduled to be the first interchange completed. The Weiler Avenue exit will likely remain, McTavish will stay a traffic-light controlled intersection and the Amity Drive intersection will likely remain unchanged. Traffic lights and turn Janes will remain at Mt. Newton Crossroad. At Island View Road, a major interchange similar to Alternative 3, as presented at Central Saanich information meetings, will likely be built. “It seems acceptable to council and the school board but we’ll go ae FOR NOW. ....... “Let Charity Continue ...” at your Peninsula Bingo wr FREE PARKING PARK NORTH OF JAMES WHITE RD “WORRY-FREE” PARKING IS COMING ... back to council to confirm support and identify issues,” Singer said. East Saanich Road and Keating Crossroad accesses and exits to and from the highway will even- tually be closed, he said) Martindale Road will be ser- viced by Lochside Drive, which will link to the Island View inter- change. Tanner Road access will likely be closed after interchange con- struction. In Saanich municipality, accesses from Sayward Road, Hamsterly Road, Cordova Bay Road, Piedmont Drive, Claremont Avenue and Haliburton Road will be restricted to right-turn highway access and egress only, effective almost immediately. Crews will install concrete medians within weeks to restrict the flow of traffic from crossing lanes, Highways Minister Rita Johnston said Sunday. The Royal Oak and Quadra Street area will remain as is, plans are not known for Vanalman and Lily avenues and a major inter- change will be constructed at the McKenzie Avenue intersection. A design for the McKenzie Ave- nue interchange has not been com- pleted and Highways department Staff will likely go to the public information meeting stage to show _ design alternatives in April, Singer said. : MIXED ’ Continued from Page A17 Saanich and The Islands MLA Terry Huberts said he’s pleased with the announcement and said the Island View interchange option for Central Saanich has the sup- _ § port of the majority of residents ¥ and the municipality. : “Compelling reading for everyone Peter - Asquith - Cowan, British Historian “It must be read; it tells a vital story” Ben Simon Publications, Brentwood Bay THE INVISIBLY WOUNDED - ao JEWS IN WARTIME Series devised hy ee Le, 1939-1945 Nard Available Now At TANNERS BOOKS Beacon Avenue - Sidney WHITE THE ‘BIG ONE” / DAYS A WEEK SIDNEY DROP-IN BINGO FREE PARKING ON SITE 9842 3Rd SIDNEY, B.C. (NO TICKETS) BINGO! 9842 3RD