Coun. Dean Murdock to be guest speaker

Coun. Dean Murdock, the youngest member of Saanich council who has a special interest in transportation, will be the guest speaker at the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) Annual General Meeting on Friday April 16 at 7 p.m. in the main hall of Cordova Bay United Church, Claremont Avenue at Del Monte Avenue. There will be a question and answer period.

And Lana Popham, the MLA for Saanich South, has been invited to join us.

At the business meeting after the refreshment break, CBA members will elect six directors for two-year terms to the executive. Five incumbents are in the middle of their two-year terms.

If you are interested in serving on the CBA executive, please contact the Nominating Committee:
Maureen Leech - ajcom@telus.net; Leo Lee - leomlee@leolee.ca; Kevin Weir - kevinweir@telus.net. Nominations may also be made from the floor of the AGM by two members provided the nominees are CBA members and state their willingness to stand for election.

Gridlocked with rush hour traffic

Police closed both lanes of the Pat Bay Highway at Sayward after a truck clipped a power pole, downing live wires on Tuesday 9 March. To read the full report, please open this link.

And the winner is....!

Ingrid Taylor, from Patrick Place in Cordova Bay, is the winner of our 2010 early-bird membership renewal draw prize. CBA's membership secretary, Jennifer Furtado, will present Ingrid with two $25 gift vouchers for any Cordova Bay restaurant of her choice.

Three cheers for Saanich Police!

Saanich Police were out in force Friday morning, Feb. 5, and pulled over speeders on Cordova Bay Road - a long-standing problem on a street where the speed limit is 40 kph - and it's 30 kph for schools and playgrounds. Police handed out 50 tickets in 2½ hours to motorists who were doing between 46 and 69 kph past the children's playground at Cordova Bay Park in the 5000-block Cordova Bay Road.

Former executive, Susan Bridges appointed to
Saanich advisory committee

A long-time member of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs CBA) former executive, Susan Bridges has been appointed to the Saanich Planning, Transportation and Economic Development advisory committee. During her former service with CBA, Susan was a first vice-president, and later chaired the traffic and planning committees.

New Lotto agent for Cordova Bay

If you missed your chance at buying a winning Lotto ticket when the Variety Store in Cordova Bay Plaza closed down, you'll be pleased to know that the Super Duper Store (Dollar Store) is now an official Lotto agent. Jeannie, who runs the store, wishes you good luck!

St. David's recommended for closure

St. David by-the-Sea Anglican Church on Cordova Bay Road at the corner of Sutcliffe Road is one of 10 Anglican churches recommended by the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia for closure and the property sold or leased. The property is also used by Cordova Bay Preschool and Pacific Dance Centre.

At a meeting of the Diocese Synod in early March it was recommended that St. Peter, Lakehill and St. David's, Cordova Bay be given one year for significant discussion with a view towards establishment of an initiative of shared ministry between St. Peter’s, St. David’s and St. Michael and All Angels, Royal Oak and confirm the financial viability of the plan for shared ministry. Motion to be revisited in one year by Diocesan Council: that disestablishment of St. Peter’s and St. David’s and movement of these two parishes to the hub church of St. Dunstan on the St. Dunstan’s site, be reinstituted if the initiative fails.

The cornerstone for St. David's parish hall was laid in 1947. The church, designed by Cordova Bay architect Don MacPherson, was dedicated in 1979.

Important news about the future of
The Cordovan newsletter

The executive committee of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) has decided that the future of The Cordovan is by electronic delivery: e-mail (to members of the CBA) and posting on the CBA website. This change will occur in September of this year. A certain number of printed copies of the electronic Cordovan will be made available for personal pick-up at locations to be determined – to assist those without a computer.

This wasn't an easy decision because of the long tradition of home delivery of the newsletter. However, difficulty in getting volunteers, rising print costs and concern about the environment have led to this decision.

You can read more about this changeover in the last printed issue of The Cordovan, which is due to be delivered to all residents of Cordova Bay during the first week of March 2010.

Resignation of president - Roger Stonebanks

This is to inform you that Roger has been obliged to resign as president of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA), and as a member of the CBA executive, effective with consideration of #15 of the agenda of the executive meeting on December 9, 2009. He will also be unavailable for consideration at the AGM election on April 16, 2010. This is entirely due to a serious health reason, and he needs to now concentrate his energies and attention on his road to recovery.

"It has been my pleasure to be an executive member of our community association for eight years - seven of them as president and one as first vice-president. Good memories. We have made great strides in a number of directions and the credit goes to everyone who volunteered time and effort."

Roger is going to be missed by the executive, not only as president but as a 'font of all knowledge' concerning Cordova Bay. We all wish him a very speedy recovery.

Calico Cupboard moves to Cordova Bay Plaza
and Toying Around opens in its place

Calico Cupboard, the country quilt shop at Mattick’s Farm, has moved to the Cordova Bay Plaza. The shop now occupies the premises vacated by Cordova Bay Variety Store which closed with little notice at the end of August. Calico Cupboard owner, Shirley Henly, has converted her former shop at Mattick’s into a toy store called Toying Around - just in time for Christmas! This new store is full of delightful and practical toys for babies up to pre teens.

Plaza pollution: allegations and denials

It will be claim and counter-claim, allegation and denial, when two major oil companies and the past and present owners of Cordova Bay Plaza square off in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver in a three-week trial that is set to start on 12 April 2010 over responsibility for underground gasoline pollution.

See separate news story in The Cordovan, Winter 2009, Vol. 33, No. 4, posted under "Newsletter" on this website).

A brand-new shopping centre with 3,586 square metres (38,599 square feet) of commercial floor space - a supermarket, shops, 16 apartments and a specific building for Scotiabank - was approved by Saanich council in 1999 following a year of public input to replace the 1960 plaza.

But council withheld issuance of the Development Permit pending consolidation of the two legal lots that comprise the plaza property and “confirmation from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks that no site remediation is required.” Because neither of council’s conditions has been met, the new shopping centre has been stalled in time.

Efforts to settle the dispute by private arbitration after the lawsuits were filed were unsuccessful so a judge will settle the differences between Shell Canada Products Ltd., Chevron Canada Ltd., Your Family Food Mart Ltd., the corporate owner of Cordova Bay Plaza, and McMorran’s Cordova Bay Ltd., the previous owner that sold the property in 1972.

The two locations on which court attention is focused are the northeast corner of the plaza property, where there was a Chevron service station that closed in 1979 and its underground gasoline tanks removed, and across Doumac Avenue behind the fencing where there was a PayLess Gas/Shell station that closed in 1997.

The allegations and denials are set out in statements of claim and defence and a counter-claim and defence running to 36 pages and filed at the Vancouver Law Courts in 2005 and 2006. The documents contain allegations that have not been proved in court. That will be decided by the judge at the trial.

Shell Canada is the plaintiff and its allegations include: that contaminants were discharged from the plaza gas station; that the contaminants migrated to neighbouring properties; that the neighbouring properties were contaminated; Shell has incurred costs remediating and cleaning up contaminants; that the past and present plaza owners and Chevron (the defendants) are responsible; that Shell, by its remediation, has conferred a benefit to them to its detriment.

Shell is claiming unstated damages for its remediation costs in its site clean-up; for negligence by the defendants or for their unjust enrichment at Shell’s expense.

Your Family Food Mart (YFFM), in its statement of defence, expressly denied Shell’s allegations and said that gasoline was last stored on its property in 1979 when the underground storage tanks were removed. Any soil contamination would no longer be present on its or neighbouring properties and the land slopes away from the Shell property. However, YFFM said its property is contaminated from the Shell property – it originated and migrated from the Shell property.

YFFM said all remediation costs incurred by Shell, past or future, related to remediating its property or neighbouring properties, are the responsibility of Shell and it asked that Shell’s action be dismissed.

McMorran’s Cordova Bay Ltd. also denied Shell’s allegations. It says Chevron removed all its equipment from the service station site in 1981 and the excavation was filled with coarse sand and gravel. When the service station building itself was removed in the late 1990s “there were no contaminants in the earth removed as part of the excavation.”

Chevron Canada Ltd. also denied Shell’s allegations and denied contaminating the property itself.

After the denials, Your Family Food Mart submitted a counter-claim that it was Shell that caused the Shell property to become contaminated and that the contamination escaped and migrated from there. It now contaminates the YFFM property and adjacent properties and YFFM “has suffered and continues to suffer damages and loss” for which it seeks judgment for costs and damages.

In turn, Shell denied the allegations in the counter-claim including that the YFFM property became contaminated as a result of Shell’s negligence and denied that contaminants escaped or migrated from its property. But if escape and migration occurred – “which is denied” – then Shell “voluntarily commenced remediation” for which it incurred costs “and claims a setoff for those costs.” If YFFM has suffered loss or damage or incurred costs of remediation – “which is denied” – YFFM “has failed to take any steps or any reasonable steps to mitigate its damage or loss.”

McMorran's Beach House closing this year,
property to be sold

Statement by Roger Stonebanks, former president of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs, re McMorran's:

"The closure of McMorran's Beach House will come as a surprise to many -and with more than a little sadness. Its history goes back to the 1920s when the McMorran family started their beachfront Tea Rooms. In the years since then it has been a prominent feature of community life in Cordova Bay - the scene of many wedding receptions, ballroom dances and community meetings - as well as a restaurant and patio.

"As to the future use of this property, residents will look forward to a thorough community consultation and input process including public meetings for whatever will be proposed in its place. Whatever is proposed will be examined closely by residents and it will need to 'fit into' the neighbourhood.

"The purchase by Saanich of the beautiful grassy and treed lot at 5099 Cordova Bay Road with its magnificent view of Haro Strait, the islands and Mount Baker is very welcome. It will enhance the beachfront and the Cordova Bay village core and will add a public park between Agate Park and Cordova Bay Park. It is complemented by the existing beach access."

Relief efforts for Haiti
Shelter boxes provided by the 55 Plus Association

Members of Cordova Bay 55 Plus Association have come through in spades in support of the relief efforts for Haiti. The generosity of the members has resulted in the purchase of seven Shelter boxes in the name of Cordova Bay 55 Plus Association, a contribution of over $7,000.00 and with the Federal Government’s matching dollars its contribution will total $14,000.00+ for this worthy cause. Don Ohlgren, Director of Shelter Boxes Canada, is thrilled and said that the organization has now put together 1,000 boxes. For those who still wish to make a donation, please visit the 55 + centre, 5238 Cordova Bay Rd. Cordova Bay Elementary School) and drop your cheques off at the Office between 9 and 12 noon. Make your cheques payable to Shelter Box Canada.
(Provided by Louise Parton, PR Chair, 55+ Assn.)

Cordova Bay Day on 4 July 2009

The skies were blue and the sun shone for our Cordova Bay Day 2009! At least partly as a result of the gorgeous weather, the community turned out and enjoyed the relaxed, easy atmosphere at both McMorran's and, later on, at Mattick's Farm. The band, Mike Lefebvre and Perros Libre, (sponsored by Scotiabank here in Cordova Bay) played at both locations, setting a happy tone for the event. Rhonda, the face painter, (sponsored by Cordova Bay resident and mobile mortgage specialist Leo Lee) was kept busy creating beautiful works of art at both locations, and the bouncy castle at Mattick's Farm (sponsored in part by Steve Ingle of Edward Jones here in Cordova Bay) was a great hit with the little ones.

The silent auction raised, for community endeavours, more than $2800 - easily the highest total yet. Gratifying though this is, it was the community spirit present which was a real highlight - and was personified by the McMorran family who not only donated but pitched in to prepare the 450 hot-dogs and ice creams served to an appreciative crowd. The Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs also wishes to thank Jay Basi (himself a Cordova Bay resident) at Mattick's Farm who worked with us and who responded to every request cheerfully and quickly.

Cordova Bay - what a marvellous place to live!
Sally Tuckey, event organiser.

To see a slide show of Sally's photos, please click on this link:

Cordova Bay Day 2009 photos

Multi-car collision!

A multi-vehicle crash shut down both northbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway at Sayward Road for more than an hour recently. Three separate crashes involving as many as 12 cars closed the lanes in the early afternoon. To read the full report, please open this link.

Safety improvements for less than half a million dollars

A current traffic safety report states that short-and-medium-term measures to improve safety at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road would cost – only $381,000. And the report said the changes should be considered for implementation.

The report by Opus Hamilton of Vancouver into collision-prone locations in BC was done last February for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the ministry released to the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) the portion dealing with Sayward Road. This portion is 31 pages long and anyone who wishes to read it should contact the traffic committee chairperson Wayne Christmas: wayne.christmas@telus.net

The long-term option for Patricia Bay Highway/Sayward Road intersection is a “grade separation” (interchange) to allow north-south traffic to proceed without stopping. The estimated cost is $18 million but the report said this should not be considered for implementation.

The report details the accident experience at this intersection. A separate report by ICBC released to the CBA shows that 80 per cent of accidents are rear-enders. The Opus Hamilton report said there is a concentration of rear-end collisions on the northbound approach to Sayward Road. The primary contributing factor to collisions, according to police, is motorists driving without due care and attention (34 per cent) and following too closely (22 per cent).

Among the significant changes recommended by Opus Hamilton are: provide an eastbound to southbound right-turn acceleration lane; construct a median on Sayward Road eastbound to restrict left-turn movement from the Petro-Canada gas station, and provide a U-Turn; improve access management for all gas station driveways and consider constructing a backage road; relocate the bus stops on the highway.

The CBA, in a “safety-first” campaign, has urged the ministry, Saanich municipality, ICBC and the CRD Traffic Safety Commission to get together and (1) examine the causes of accidents (this has largely been done in the Opus Hamilton report); (2) develop safety improvements to solve or mitigate the situation; (3) encourage the general public to provide input/ideas.

Safety first at Pat Bay/Sayward intersection

The CBA has told highways officials that it is “well past time” that safety improvements are implemented at the dangerous intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road.

In a communication on June 15 to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the District of Saanich, ICBC and the CRD Traffic Safety Commission, the CBA noted that the intersection is considered one of the most dangerous on Vancouver Island.

According to ICBC, there were 60 crashes in 2008 – 20 of them involving “casualty” (death or injury) and 40 property damage-only. The rounded-out accident figures from ICBC show little change year to year since 2004.

The CBA said it is “very concerned at the high level of accidents” at this intersection and asked authorities: “Why is this happening? From the answers to this question should emerge potential solutions or, at the very least, some mitigation of the current number of crashes and the resulting deaths, injuries and property damage.”

The CBA urged the authorities to:

1. Urgently examine the causes of these accidents, where precisely they occur, and at what time of the day or night.
2. From that examination, develop safety improvements to solve or mitigate this situation.
3. Encourage the general public to provide input/ideas.

“The first emphasis, we recommend, should be to examine the highway itself as it passes through the intersection and on the east side of the highway in terms of how traffic gets on and off the highway,” said the CBA.

“The over-riding principles for all proposed changes, in our opinion, should be safety and not encouraging north-south traffic to cut through roads within Cordova Bay.”

The CBA received a very supportive letter dated June 17 from Colin Doyle, Director of Engineering for Saanich. He stated:

“The Municipality shares the community association’s concerns regarding safety at this busy intersection and the need to consider alternatives or improvements to the existing intersection design and operation.

“While we do not have intimate knowledge regarding the engineering aspects of this intersection, the Municipality is responsible for the policing of the area. I have taken the liberty of discussing this with the Saanich Police and they confirm that the area is one of concern for them.

“We agree that, in the absence of a definitive plan for the construction of a grade separated crossing, there is a need to look at how the existing risks inherent in the at-grade intersection can be mitigated. This could be achieved through an access management plan, signal and signing changes or other means. Whatever the final outcome, it is clear that the first step is, as suggested in your letter, an examination of the factors contributing to the high accident rate at this location. We fully support this approach.”

Doyle concluded by sending a copy of his letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to confirm Saanich’s “support for the community’s position on this important issue.”

Patricia Bay Highway – upgrades later rather than sooner

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Kevin Falcon, told the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) on March 13/09 that public input will precede any major proposed changes to the Patricia Bay Highway. But his comments indicated that major changes throughout the highway are likely some time off.

He said the Highway 17 Corridor Study (scroll down the “News” page on this website to the item headlined “Interchanges recommended for Pat Bay Highway” for a summary and the full report) - “is a long-term strategy for future development along this route, ensuring we are ready for future growth and opportunities in this corridor. The projects described in the study will be considered over time and as funding priorities permit.

“My ministry continues to work extensively with the peninsula municipalities to refine this strategy. Currently, we’re working with the Victoria Airport Authority on potential improvements to the McTavish Road/Highway 17 intersection.

“Please be assured that any major decisions, such as the construction of an interchange, will include seeking public input. At that time, all stakeholders, including your association, will have the opportunity to become involved.”

The CBA earlier wrote to Minister Falcon urging “a full, transparent and public input process” when the ministry decides to propose upgrades to Patricia Bay Highway through Cordova Bay, a position supported by Saanich Mayor, Frank Leonard.

The CBA has recognized that highway upgrades will come sometime given two traffic consultant reports in 2001 and 2007 that recommended freewaying from Cordova Bay to Swartz Bay by closing road and driveway accesses in favour of specific interchanges.

The over-riding principles, the CBA told Minister Falcon and Mayor Leonard, for proposed changes should be safety without encouraging north-south traffic to cut through roads within Cordova Bay.

**Interchanges recommended for Pat Bay Highway**

An updated report for the Patricia Bay Highway recommends “preferred interchange locations” at Sayward Road, Mount Newton Cross Road, McTavish Road, Beacon Avenue, Wain Road and Lands End Road.

The report, by Urban Systems Ltd to the Ministry of Transportation and entitled “Highway 17 Corridor Planning Strategy”, builds on a 2001 report called “Vision For Highway 17.”

It was developed as a result of meetings over the last few years by the ministry as well as a steering committee comprised of Saanich Peninsula municipalities and BC Transit, BC Ferries and the Victoria International Airport Authority.

The report lists Claremont Avenue and Haliburton Road as “options for interchange locations.” One “concept” has a Haliburton Road overpass with Claremont Avenue “right-in, right-out” and the second concept reverses this with a Claremont Avenue overpass and Haliburton Road “right-in, right-out.” More work was needed to advance either concept, the report said, as well as further examination with area communities and other agencies.

The report recommends closing all accesses, roads and driveways, except for designated interchanges. In Cordova Bay the report (Page 25) identifies for closure - Piedmont Drive, Cordova Bay Road, Hamsterley Road, Sayward Road (west side), Wells Road and Old East Road. The weigh scale would need to be relocated. Traffic movement at the rowing club, however, would be permitted by a right-in, right-out movement.

As far as highway improvements are concerned, the report said there are “no shelf-ready projects to be advanced without significantly more planning and design.”

Saanich Mayor, Frank Leonard, told the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) that “any time and every time I hear that the MoT would like to meet with myself or council/councillors – I ask that they book a hall in Cordova Bay and meet the community first.”

No action has been taken on the report and the B.C. government has not allocated any money for changes to the highway. Nevertheless, the report is a look at what may happen to the highway. The previously-unpublished report, dated April 2007, was found by the CBA in an internet search.

The report is 55 pages long with eight pages of appendices To read the full report, please open this link, and click on: 2007-03-15-Final_Report_Hwy17_Corridor_Strategy.pdf. - or by Google: “highway 17 corridor planning strategy.”

Yet another accident.....

Another accident to report. At approximately 10.00 a.m. on Remembrance Day a young woman, driving down Sayward Road from the highway, took the corner at Sayward/Hunt/Fowler too quickly resulting in the driver spinning around and hitting a power pole - the woman was obviously shaken from the accident and the airbag being deployed. Two further occupants were in the car. Luckily for her, nothing was coming the other way so no other vehicles were involved.

The officer on the scene was of the opinion that the driver was in error, driving too fast and possibly with lack of experience (N sign in the back) being a factor. He believes something needs to be done at this dangerous intersection and is in favour of a roundabout. The Cordova Bay Association (CBA) is pushing Saanich to address this problem.

Photo taken by Jennifer Furtado, CBA executive

WIPE-OUT

Excessive speed by the driver of a red truck on July 13, 2009, resulted in a crash through the fence at 880 Sayward Road at one part of the problematic corner of Sayward-Hunt-Fowler roads. The driver sped off. Residents at this address are especially concerned because their children play in the yard.

Photo taken by Jennifer Furtado, CBA executive

Another crash on problem corner

Two vehicles collided head-on recently at the continuing accident-prone corner of Sayward/Hunt/Fowler roads despite the cautionary 'Slow to 30 kilometres an hour' signs on both approaches to the curve erected by Saanich last fall. The CBA repeats its call for a T-intersection with three-way stops.

Photos taken by Wayne Christmas, CBA executive

Progress on problem corner

Saanich has posted Slow to 30 kilometre an hour signs on both approaches to the problem corner of Sayward/Hunt/Fowler roads.

This action follows a public-safety campaign launched last summer by the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA), responding to concerns of residents because of frequent speeding by motorists resulting in several accidents with injuries and property damage as well as near-accidents.

The CBA has proposed that a three-way stop be installed with a redesigned T-intersection and will continue to press for this change.

Cordova Bay development news