On Wednesday morning I witnessed the “unexpected result” of the installation of bollard bike lanes along Shelbourne Street.

Some six fire department vehicles attended an alarm call in the 2800 block at about 8 a.m. It came in, I was told, as “house full of smoke,” and turned out to be a pot on the stove.

That was fortunate, but the presence of the bike lanes meant that the block ought to have been blocked off, and traffic re-routed, at least southbound. (There is no convenient re-route available between Bay and Lansdowne, really.)

I’m not questioning the need for bike lanes, or the loss of on-street parking – though, as a resident here for 45 years, I think I know the traffic better than ­planners do.

But by installing the bollards and curbs (which deter cyclists from acting in a vehicular manner) we have created a situation where emergency vehicles cannot, really, get through, because other motorists have nowhere to get out of their way, except at intersections, and even those are often choked for “traffic calming.”

It’s obvious that the plan was prepared and adopted without any reference to reality.

John A. Laidlaw

Victoria

The Oct. 2 crash on the Trans-Canada Highway highlights a real problem in Greater Victoria.

Our region has been growing for years, and many people, particularly in suburban areas, use cars for most of their trips.

Accommodating the growth in vehicles is expensive (consider the $100 million spent on the McKenzie interchange, and the nearly $80 million spent on the Keating overpass).

These projects are also disruptive, causing years of traffic delays for modest improvements that are soon overwhelmed by increasing traffic.

Furthermore, they’re not even possible in areas, like the City of Victoria, that are already built out.

Another concern is that car and truck traffic can, and does, delay paramedics, police, and fire fighters from responding to emergencies.

To successfully address these concerns we need to look around the world for solutions that work.

One of those is dedicated emergency vehicle and transit lanes.

Dedicated lanes allow first responders to travel quickly, and, because they can be also used by transit to bypass car traffic, they help make transit an attractive choice for more people.

In already built-up areas, we need to look at implementing transit priority, busways, better sidewalks, and,........

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