We have issues that need to be resolved

So where and to whom do I submit my ferry receipt to return home from the North Island after the Malahat (to which my federal tax, gasoline tax, provincial taxes and my multiple ‘exams of the transport ‘are supposed to go) is completely closed and washed one way?

I am a farmer from North Saanich who has never taken CERB, who works hard for my family’s income and has to take a one-lane corridor to get to and back from where I live just to join the two ends.

Of course, previous governments did it this way – it’s not my fault. But now it’s your turn, so stop avoiding what’s on your face. We need more roads; electric vehicles will also use them. It is a transport corridor.

Sorry, Premier John Horgan, things are not going well for you. Sorry, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that you don’t like the West Coast.

We are carried away, under water, no means of doing or accessing our work. And now no way to head east to find a place to collect CERB because the water is too high.

No farms, no food, no transport, no towns… no towns, no votes, so who is going to elect you next time?

Stop trying to solve the world’s problems, solve your country’s problems – and stop using political innuendo to evade tough questions.

Jay Krzywonos, farmer

North Saanich

Few options for another route

Yes, the Malahat has been closed again. Right now a few will ask for a wider highway, more and bigger ferries on the road or a bridge.

All three solutions won’t help significantly, especially if a cost factor has been included. A wider highway won’t do much. If debris and water can cross the current road, why would anyone think it couldn’t cross more lanes?

Also, a wider highway would mean cutting further down a steep and, at times, unstable slope, which could lead to more incidents.

One solution would be an alternative second route. More and bigger ferries can help, but won’t solve the problem. There is a limit to the size and number of moorings per hour that current docks can handle.

A new wharf further from the peninsula would make the crossing shorter, but still insufficient for hundreds of cars per hour.

A cross bridge would be prohibitively expensive for the number of cars per year on the Malahat, only the maintenance cost per year would be significant.

At a quick guess, for the cost of building a bridge, start with a billion plus and 10 years to build, and that’s optimistic – expect the time and dollars to be a lot more.

The best solution may be to just suck it up and recognize that there will sometimes be a day when traveling up and down the island is impractical.

Norm Ryder

Saanich Center

If we build a wave the surfers will catch it

Have we had enough bickering over Clover Point? On the positive side, the water in the Clover Point and Ross Bay area is well used.

Most of the time I see a lot of kiteboarders and wingfoilers as well as paddleboarders on calmer days. However, I have only seen a surfer there once in 25 years.

What if we could change that? A small man-made reef or even a boulder placed in the right spot to create an always surfable wave would unite the surfing community of Victoria and possibly create a whole new one.

It doesn’t have to be a huge wave or a costly effort to produce, just coherent. An “all ages, all abilities” wave would be great.

Imagine the reduction in emissions if surfers in Victoria didn’t have to travel to Jordan River, Sombrio or Tofino to catch a wave. A surfable wave would be ideal to attract locals and tourists, to the benefit of local businesses.

I’m not a marine engineer (obviously), but I’m sure there are plenty in Victoria who could advise on the feasibility of this idea, and where it would work best with minimal disturbance to nature.

I invite the council and their Twitter crowds to put aside the politics of division and identity, and let’s build something awesome that doesn’t exclude anyone. It could be #TheWave that brings Victoria together.

Geoff mason

Victoria

Council moves away from mandate again

Re: “Victoria Council is considering providing an annual grant to First Nations, based on tax revenue,” Nov 6.

Is Victoria City Council getting lost in areas of provincial and federal importance and responsibility?

Our council members have once again extended the electoral mandates given to them to lead the city in a fiscally responsible manner.

The next municipal elections will be most interesting.

Pierre Foran

Songhees-Vic West

Convert a railway line to a bus lane

When did the dream of owning a single family home become old fashioned? On the one hand, we hear how we have to do something about the housing situation in the capital region.

On the other side, we hear about the need to pursue the reserve of farmland in areas that are clearly not agricultural, as we watch land exploded into rock and high density housing reach the sky. .

There’s no shortage of land, but the “exorbitant” price for a modest-sized vacant lot is quickly approaching a million dollars.

Can anyone explain why we cannot convert the island rail corridor to a single one and in some areas a two lane bus line which would open the length of the island to a vast corridor of housing opportunities served by reliable commuter transport?

And, please don’t flatter us to wait for the train to arrive. I used trains to commute. They are unreliable and expensive.

A single-track, one-way rail corridor will never be a suitable commuter corridor. Whereas a single lane bus lane could cater for varying traffic volumes and schedules by using the island’s highway as a return route.

A decent high-speed bus lane, complementing well-designed community plans, would create a plethora of opportunities for thousands of families on the island who are now sardined in high-density housing.

Larry Olsen

Victoria

Our city is losing its tourist appeal

Once again, I read with sadness what was happening in our beautiful city once.

I grew up in London and spent most of my wet weekends visiting all the museums and art galleries there. They were more than magnificent.

When I arrived in Victoria I expected to see a very provincial little museum. Have I ever been surprised at how wonderful all the exhibits were, showing in detail the history of this beautiful province.

My children and grandchildren loved going there. From now on, it will be the shadow of its former glory.

Victoria is presented as a “tourist town”. They closed the wax museum first, then the beautiful Crystal Garden, both so easily accessible to tourists and locals, and now that.

What is the next? Will they want the owners of Butchart Gardens to get rid of all the “offensive and old colonial trees and shrubs?” “

As a tourist town, dependent on tourism money, we are quickly falling apart.

Victoria is becoming a smaller, uglier version of Chicago or Toronto, without the amenities of big cities, just those many new and unattractive skyscrapers.

All is not totally lost, because we still have a lot of beautiful trees along our boulevards and for that I am really grateful.

Powers That Be, please wake up and stop all the chaos before it’s too late.

Genie Carson

Victoria

Hey, drivers, don’t blame the residents of Fairfield

Drivers, it is not our fault that you were kicked off Richardson Street and now have to use St. Charles and Warren Gardens to get between downtown and your home.

I know that heists and near misses on this narrow street are a cause of frustration, but please slow down and accept this scourge that has been inflicted on us.

Ripping and detonating your horn is not the norm. Again, take your issue to Town Hall, not to the people who were not involved in this change.

We did not invite this chaos, so remember that we have a lot of new young families in these two streets as well as older members of the neighborhood.

Thank you in advance.

James M. Scott

Victoria

A double standard in a restaurant visit

My family and I went to a local restaurant. We were pleased to provide our proof of vaccine at the doorstep as some of us are caregivers working to reduce exposure to COVID.

We struggled to hear the waiter explain what we were eating. He lowered his mask without our consent and was a foot or less away.

We asked if he had been vaccinated for fear of the risk of exposure, but he could not answer. Then, the manager reprimanded us for asking for vaccination status, without apologizing for the behavior of his server having put us in danger.

I understand privacy issues, but we clients had to prove our immunization status right on the doorstep. We have no idea if we are being scanned on our doorstep by someone who is not vaccinated.

Isn’t it a double standard that makes all security screening an absurd process?

Is there a way to give the public access to a list of restaurants whose staff are vaccinated?

The very plausible scenario of an unvaccinated staff checking consumers in a restaurant and serving us afterwards is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing scanning vulnerable sheep in an enclosure known to be safe from wolf attack.

It lulls customers into a very false sense of security. Baaah indeed.

Jacqui Walker

Malahat

If you are not “awake” then maybe you are “ignorant”

When has “waking up” become a bad thing? The dictionary meaning is “aware and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”.

Why is it used as an insult?

I hope I am awake. I’m definitely trying to be awake.

If a person is not “awake”, what is he? Maybe “ignorant” would be a good place to start.

Alan thurston

Victoria

SEND US YOUR LETTERS

• Send letters to: [email protected]

• Mail: Letters to the Editor, Times Colonist, 201-655 Tyee Rd., Victoria, BC V9A 6X5

• Submissions should not exceed 250 words; subject to editing for length and clarity. Provide your contact details; it will not be published. Avoid sending your letter as an email attachment.