While many active trail users and hiking lovers in Sooke would applaud the extension and enhancement of our trail system, it would be a delusion to consider the trail project over DeMamiel Creek "an alternative transportation option to help alleviate vehicle travel on Highway 14" (Jan. 16 Sooke News Mirror).
Even if dozens of school children use the trail to bike or walk to school, their parents and thousands of other residents would still use cars on Highway 14 to get to Langford, Victoria, and elsewhere. Nothing less than a three- (as a minimum) or a four-lane highway would alleviate this biggest problem for our area.
A lot of emergency preparedness is talked about in the district, and even training is offered to the population. But what's the use? In case of an earthquake or wildfire, we'll all be stuck in our neighbourhoods, unable to go anywhere as Highway 14 will become a parking lot in a very short time.
Obviously, enlarging a highway would require a huge investment, beyond municipal or even provincial means. However, putting off the problem won't make it disappear – the costs and the residents' exasperation would just grow bigger.
In this view, spending almost $4 million on a hiking trail would be nice at the time of plenty, but at the time of need, it seems like a folly. It would make more sense to spend this money on enlarging the Sooke River bridge – at least making a small step in the right direction.
Nina Leshinskaya
Sooke
