GOLDSTREAM
NEWS GAZETTE
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KUMON CENTRE of LANGFORD-WESTSHORE
Colwood gets Hip
On dirt, on track
Canadian rock icons The Tragically Hip will headline Rock the Shores at West Shore rec in July. Entertainment, Page A6
Top Canadian cyclists will mentor students at the high-flying Bike Jam at West Shore rec on Friday. Sports, Page A21
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Wednesday, April 4, 2012
More barriers en route to Malahat Drive Concrete lane dividers slated for Trans-Canada Highway in Langford
Entrepreneur and navy wife Cynthia Cummings stands outside the Department of National Defense property on Rosebank Road in Colwood, the soon to be starting point for a new, private bus service to CFB Esquimalt.
Krista Siefken Black Press
The province will spend $8 million adding 5.4 kilometres of extra concrete medians on the Malahat Drive this year. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom announced Thursday that when construction is complete, more than 40 per cent of the Malahat will be separated with median barriers. Five sections of the corridor will receive the barriers, with construction work scheduled to start this month and finish in the fall. Safety improvements include intersection upgrades at Finlayson Arm Road, Shawnigan Lake Road and the Malahat village, plus additional enforcement pullout areas, an advanced weather advisory system, and improved lighting, signage and roadside delineation. The improvements were motivated by a community-driven effort to reduce crashes on the busy corridor, plus a safety review conducted by the ministry and engineer experts. Lekstrom said the restricted corridor means the 1.4 km median being put in north of Finlayson Arm Road will require removal of a section of passing lane “There is some give and take, but immediately following the median barrier placement, there is some passing lane as well, so I think it will work,� Lekstrom said. “It’s really focused on safety.� PLEASE SEE: More safety measures, Page A6
Problem.
Kyle Wells/News staff
From Blue Boats to Blue Buses Business to offer direct bus service between Colwood and CFB Esquimalt Kyle Wells News staff
A Colwood entrepreneur is launching a private bus service to pick up where the impending cancellation of the military Blue Boat has left off. The “Blue Bus� shuttle service will transport people between the Colwood location of the Military Family Resource Centre on Rosebank Road, and the CFB Esquimalt front gates starting May 1. Buses are scheduled to leave near the military resource centre Monday to Friday for three morning runs before 7 a.m. Return trips will leave from near CFB
Esquimalt at 4:15 and 4:45 p.m. Blue Bus developer Cynthia Cummings has a husband and son in the navy who use the Blue Boat daily. With the upcoming cancellation of the service at the end of April, she said it only seemed logical that somebody provide an alternative. “I’m doing this because we are a military family,� said Cummings, who lives in Belmont Park. “I’m doing it for the military, just to ensure that our military community can continually, comfortably go to work.� Cummings said she thinks of herself as a logistical coordinator putting together a needed service. She isn’t expecting to make a profit and is trying to keep the fare price as low as possible. Ultimately, demand will drive service levels, and if it turns out that there is no demand, Cummings said her investment is minimal enough that she can shut the business down without much of a loss.
Solution.
“If I last a month, or six months, I can stop at any time,� said Cummings. “I just figured let’s just do it. Let’s see what happens.� She is selling the Blue Bus service as convenient, reliable, specific to the needs of the military personnel and a solution to get more cars off the “Colwood crawl.� The project has fallen together quickly for Cummings, who is working with Wilson’s Transportation in Victoria to organize buses and drivers. She has already heard plenty of interest from military families and expects the service to be well used. “I think it’s a great idea,� said her husband, Warrant Officer Wayne Cummings. “I think the military is very keen on something like this or anything, because they don’t have a viable option, they don’t have a solution. This alleviates that issue.� PLEASE SEE: Bus to fill gap, Page A4
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