An intersection that has long frustrated Saanich drivers has taken a new turn.
Raylec Power – a Vancouver Island-based company specializing in electrical infrastructure – has finished installing an advanced green light for drivers turning left off Haliburton Road onto the Pat Bay Highway. Work for the project began last month.
Reaction to this development has been, well, endearing, and perhaps with good reason.
Yes yes yes! New advance left turn in @Saanich turning south onto Hwy 17 from Halliburton. Thank you 🙏 @TranBC #Saanich #yyjtraffic #yyj pic.twitter.com/s7dIxgnbWr
— Colin Plant (@ColinPlant2014) November 2, 2017
Haliburton Road is one of only a handful of roads that connects the Cordova Bay neighbourhood with the highway and has been the source of much frustration for area residents.
The central geographic feature of the neighbourhood is a north-south running ridge that dips down towards the highway on its western flank and down towards the Pacific Ocean on the eastern flank. While Haliburton Road winds its way up the eastern flank, it runs straight down the western flank towards the highway, with smaller roads feeding traffic onto it.
While rural in many parts, the region has experienced population growth in recent years with more to come, thereby adding to the traffic that local destination points like Claremont secondary school generate.
During both the morning and evening rush hour, vehicle traffic gets “dangerous and congested,” especially on Haliburton Road between Wesley Road and the Pat Bay Highway, said Karla Krane, a Helvetia Crescent resident, during a recent presentation before council.
Traffic heading onto the highway backs up on Haliburton Road to the point that it could take drivers multiple lights until they are able to turn left onto the highway, said Krane.
