鈥淥ut with the old, in with the new鈥� is the mantra often heard as one year replaces another, a time to tidy up loose ends and make a fresh start. Unfortunately, the new year will begin with an abundance of loose ends for the capital region, not to mention a lot of loose middles and uncertain beginnings. Issues and challenges pay little attention to an arbitrary point on the calendar.
Still, it would be nice if some of these issues could be wrapped up, and not keep spilling over from one year to the next.
Three years ago, in 2013, we wrote this:
鈥淪ome [issues] lurk in the wings, waiting for their cue to take centre stage. The replacement for Victoria鈥檚 Blue Bridge falls in that category. Unless something goes seriously wrong, it鈥檚 unlikely to be an issue until it is completed in 2015. Then we can argue over whether or not we like the finished product.
鈥淪ome issues seem to be in our faces constantly. Rarely a day passes that the sewage-treatment project fails to make headlines and generate heated letters to the editor.
鈥淥thers, such as municipal amalgamation, never really go away. Amalgamation bubbles to the surface every so often, and with 2014 being a municipal election year, the pot is already starting to simmer.鈥�
Obviously, something went seriously wrong with the Blue Bridge project 鈥� substandard steel from China and cost overruns, for starters 鈥� but the project is now scheduled to be open for traffic at the end of 2017. A bit gun-shy about making bold predictions, we will settle for being cautiously optimistic about that deadline.
But there鈥檚 little danger in predicting the sewage project will continue to make headlines and generate letters to the editor in 2017.
In September, the panel overseeing the much-delayed project said everything was a go, with construction set to start in February. But the McLoughlin Point site has to undergo another rezoning process. We hope it succeeds. It would be gratifying to see visible, substantial progress in 2017 on this long-overdue project.
Amalgamation? That issue will never go away. In the 2014 municipal elections, the majority of Greater Victorians voted in favour of some sort of amalgamation study, and the province promised a governance study. But that promise has evolved to a commitment to do 鈥渁 study of integrated service鈥� in the capital region.
The forecast for that issue is more fuzzy phraseology and little forward motion.
Those are just three of Greater Victoria鈥檚 many perennial issues.
Work has begun on the McKenzie Avenue interchange, aimed at relieving the Colwood Crawl, but which will undoubtedly increase congestion during construction. We hope its completion scheduled for 2018 will ease the commute for weary drivers, but entertain no illusions that it will diminish the debates on transportation issues. Bus lanes, bike lanes, rapid transit and the Malahat will always be hot topics, but we look forward to incremental improvements in 2017.
With issues such as traffic, taxes, feral rabbits, urban deer and amalgamation (or not), we can sigh and soldier on, but we cannot be as philosophical about the most urgent issue: fatal drug overdoses. Incremental progress is not enough; piecemeal solutions will not do. Safe-consumption sites are a start, but they are merely first aid. Prevention, effective treatment, counselling and continued support are needed to stem this grim tide.
Each new year brings hope that things will be better. But that depends on what we do about the challenges we face.
