Donald McLennan

Calling for Creative Bus Shelter Designs

Island Bus Shelters is a new group of community volunteers. In collaboration with the Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission (SSITC), we are inviting artists and designer/fabricator teams to submit proposals for creative bus shelters to recommend to the Capital Regional District. Project Philosophy - Salt Spring’s charm lies in its rural character and the absence of homogenized urban features. We are arts and tourism driven. A hand-crafted bus shelter expresses who we are as a community. Salt Spring is not about following the lead of other communities or accepting conventions; we are confident in going our own way. The Official Community Plan provides a clear mandate: “We … accept our responsibility to be the stewards of our island home..... to ensure that it remains rural..... We appreciate the extraordinary artistic and creative talents among our residents.” Bus shelters can be a form of public art and an expression of our unique island home. To source bus shelter…

Incorporation: Myths Around Grants

There is too much misleading information making the rounds about all the grant money Salt Spring would supposedly receive if we incorporate. Perhaps some persons are even led to believe that we get no grants at all now. The truth is that Salt Spring already receives numerous grants - possibly more than our share - from many different sources. To name only a few examples, we have received significant grants for land conservation, to construct our library, ArtSpring, the swimming pool, community pathways, the Ganges sewer system and Murakami Gardens. Our success in this respect would make us the envy of any small community. From 2001-2017, Salt Spring was the recipient of some $60 million in grants. We have done very well. The Lieutenant Governor of BC, the Honourable Judy Guichon, visited Salt Spring in 2013. She made a point of lauding how much we had accomplished given our size. She knows BC communities well and she was rightly impressed. The federal government als…

Transportation Referendum: the Facts

Ken Marr makes valid points in his opinion piece on the transportation referendum. But the credibility of these points is undermined by omissions and errors of fact. Fact #1: The SSI Transportation Commission (SSITC) referendum is not solely related to a sidewalk on Rainbow; funding will advance progress on multiple safety-driven projects: a sidewalk in the school zone on Rainbow to the pool sidewalk and bike lanes on Lower Ganges from Rainbow/Mahon Hall to the Upper Ganges intersection the Ganges Village Pathway Network plus Ganges Hill. Fact #2: The recent Commission vote on the Rainbow sidewalk marks the fourth time Commissioners and the CRD Director have voted to endorse the project going back to October 2010. Fact #3: A paved sidewalk proposed by CRD consultants was estimated to cost $1.5m. So the School Board and Island Pathways volunteers joined transportation commissioners to craft a new design to reduce the estimated cost by 70%. The design specifies…

Transportation Referendum an Important Decision

Salt Spring voters face an important decision on November 15. A transportation referendum is on the ballot. Arlene Dashwood's letter to the SSI Transportation Commission pointed out that the transportation sector has been long neglected on this island: "I think we have a big catch-up to deal with as there has not been much done other than upkeep for quite awhile." Transportation infrastructure does not get built for free and it is not cheap. There is no free lunch. Safety and security are the driving factors behind the current SSITC project priorities. The best/worst example is what CRD Director Wayne McIntyre rightly calls a "no brainer" and that is the lack of a sidewalk in the school district. Enhancing transportation infrastructure also contributes directly to both quality of life and economic development on SSI. The SSITC revisited the original consultants' design for Rainbow Road. The reason it did so is that CRD SSI estimated it would cost $1.5m to build …

Pedestrian and Cycling Masterplan Endorsed

Over the past two years, the Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission (SSITC) and Island Pathways have been working with other community volunteers and the CRD Active Transportation group to integrate Salt Spring into the Regional Pedestrian and Cycling Masterplan (PCMP). CRD and the SSITC contracted North America’s leading consultants on active transportation Alta Planning + Design to draft the Plan. CRD Director Wayne McIntyre took the Plan to the CRD Board in December 2013 where it was endorsed. At the request of the CRD, a group of community volunteers came together to act as a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to provide feedback on the evolution of the PCMP SSI Edition. Eight individuals were willingly recruited to the task based on their personal or organizational experience and expertise related to the cycling environment on SSI. Building on Island Pathways’ 25 years of active transportation advocacy, cycling surveys, route maps and safety initiatives, the TAC …

Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission Invites Community Input on Bus Shelter Design

Victoria, BC –- The Salt Spring Island Transportation Commission (SSITC) is inviting community input on new bus shelters that will be installed as part of the North Ganges Transportation Plan. Located on each side of Lower Ganges Road at Crofton, the two shelters will be designed to reflect Salt Spring Island’s character. The SSITC is providing an opportunity for community members to provide input on the visual characteristics of the shelters. Information on how to provide feedback as well as shelters guidelines are available through the CRD website and through the SSITC website. Input will be accepted starting November 5 and concluding on December 31, 2012. All ideas will be presented to a Design Selection Jury for review and recommendation to the SSITC and the CRD in early 2013. The selection jury will be comprised of community representatives including a student, a professional designer, a SSITC expert on accessibility issues and a CRD engineer. Click here for more …

Donald McLennan

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