You can’t go through it, and you can’t go under it, but Sooke residents will soon have a new way to go over it, as the district breaks ground on its new Little River Pedestrian Crossing.
“We’re celebrating more than a construction milestone. We’re celebrating what a project like this means. Connection, progress and a great future,” said Sooke Mayor Maja Tait, as she addressed the crowd who gathered on a frigid morning to watch the project begin.
“Imagine the possibility and the impact – rather than being stuck in traffic on Highway 14, you can be walking beneath a canopy of evergreens breathing in crisp fresh air and listening to the gentle rustle of leaves.”
The Little River Pedestrian Crossing and Multi-use trail project was first conceived nearly 10 years ago by the Parks and Trails Advisory Committe. Now, after years of planning, research and consultation construction is set to begin and Tait says she feels excited.
“I’ll feel even happier when it’s finished because we’re starting it, we’re not cutting the ribbon. But, it’s really nice to see something actually come together that you plan and dream about for a long time,” she said.
The project will see a 600-metre pedestrian-friendly trail connecting Sooke's Sunriver Neighborhood, Poirier Elementary and Journey Middle School by a collection of trails and a 30-metre bridge.
It's intended to connect the communities via a scenic trail and to provide a safe route for families and children to get their kids to school. It will allow school traffic to divert from the previous four-kilometre route along the busy and oft-congested Highway 14 making for an 85 per cent shorter commute.
The project will also allow for the extension of Sooke’s Walking School Bus program, which Tait described as a "critical link." She said the program was already seeing success along the existing pathways opposite Little River. For her, seeing kids use the trail will be a mark of success.
“I think it’ll be just seeing that movement of kids moving safely together scooting or biking or whatever, and parents saying, ‘Okay I finally don’t have my kids on the highway anymore.’”
The $2.7 million project was funded with $1.3 million from the Government of Canada’s Active Transporation Fund and an additional $500,000 from the province of B.C., with Sooke fronting the rest of the cost through development cost charges and the casino reserve fund.
The project was possible thanks to partnerships between the district and SD62, the T’Sou-ke Nation, Juan de Fuca Community Trails Society, the former Parks and Trails Advisory Committee and those involved in the construction – ISL Engineering, Regeher Contracting and Ramada.
To Tait, the project is about more than infrastructure. Along with enhancing safety, active transportation and climate action, the district will use interpretive signage to highlight cultural and environmental aspects of the region and collaborate with T’Sou-ke Nation to honour the region's Indigenous heritage.
“It’s about the relationships that honour the land, respect the land, the task and build a better future for all of us.”
The Little River Pedestrian crossing is scheduled to be completed in fall 2025.
