The following article originally appeared in the Victoria Times Colonist.
Nick Crooks is dreading the next four months.
The owner of the Saltchuck Pie Company on Bay Street, a little over a block from the bridge, has watched his business take a quick dive since the City of Victoria closed the bridge’s eastbound lane on Feb. 15.
The closure is expected to last into June, as workers replace expansion joints and improve drainage on the span, officially called the Point Ellice Bridge.
Crooks estimates the closure has already sliced into nearly 40% of his sweet and savoury pie sales, and fears he could end up laying off some of his eight staff.
“It’s been really challenging — it’s very disappointing,” he said. “And what makes it frustrating is we didn’t get much warning or consultation with the city.”
People who normally pick up Crooks’ pies for dinner on their way home just aren’t showing up. Takeout business is also falling off as delivery drivers get stuck in the traffic mess.
Crooks said he is reaching out to the Dockside Green neighbourhood and Castle Building Supplies in Vic West to inquire about parking his food truck to serve clients who can’t get to his storefront. City regulations say you can’t park on the side of the road.
“I looked out there today and saw three people working [on the bridge],” said Crooks. “I’m sure they’re working hard, but could we have more resources?”
The owners of Brass Monkey Brewing and Tasting Room, which is even closer to the bridge, are caught in the same pinch.
The partners have invested about $800,000 in improvements as part of a rebrand of the 13-year-old brewery, formerly called Moon Under Water. But as they prepared for a relaunch party on Friday, they said customer numbers are dropping.
“Everybody we usually serve lives on the other side of the bridge, and they’re just not making their way around,” said owner-operator Morgan Watson.
Like Crooks, Watson said he’s disappointed by the lack of consultation from the city about the project, and is worried the closure may go beyond June into the lucrative summer season.
“We can’t plan around it. We can’t pivot — our building is here. So it’s a gut-punch for us. There’s no doubt it will have a significant impact on us.”
The closure of the bridge lane has also plunged commuters into gridlock during the afternoon rush hour.
The bridge is used by about 20,000 vehicles daily, according to the city, and about half are being funnelled to the only other crossings, the Johnson Street and Tillicum bridges.
Traffic has started backing up as early as 3 p.m. along Tyee and Harbour roads and Esquimalt Road as drivers jockey for position and wait out multiple light changes for the ride over the Johnson Street Bridge into downtown.
Traffic is backed up as far back as Lampson Street as commuters start leaving the naval base and other parts of Esquimalt.
There’s also a scramble to get out to the Trans-Canada Highway via Craigflower for the crossing at the Tillicum Bridge.
The stop-and-go, inch-along traffic has added half an hour or more to already lengthy commute times for drivers heading to the Saanich Peninsula and West Shore.
B.C. Hydro construction projects along Douglas Street and work on new bus lanes and a new bridge over Colquitz Creek on the Trans-Canada Highway have added to the headaches.
This week, B.C. Hydro suspended a digging project in View Royal along the Island Highway until further notice. The postponement, which the utility said was the result of technical issues, provided some mercy for frustrated commuters.
From frustrating to untenable
Ryan Painter, who runs a public relations company and commutes with his wife into downtown from View Royal, said the traffic backups are adding a half hour each way to the commute.
He said he understands there are options such as cycling and transit, but those aren’t always practical. As for buses, they’re often caught in the same traffic jams.
“Construction is everywhere because the region is growing, and that’s just compounding the traffic problems,” said Painter. “We have these mostly unchanged arterial routes, and it’s just getting so bad out there.”
Nelly van Schagen, who lives near the Gorge Vale Golf Club, watches the traffic pile up in her neighbourhood as drivers get squeezed into fewer and fewer corridors.
She said residential streets like hers have become overflow routes, clogged from mid-afternoon into the evening. Walking her dog from Banfield Park, van Schagen often beats cars to her home several blocks away.
She said traffic in Greater Victoria has gone from frustrating to untenable.
“Infrastructure upgrades are necessary — no one disputes that. But the current overlap of major projects feels poorly coordinated and deeply disruptive for the people who live and work here,” said van Schagen.
“If I were an ambulance driver, a delivery person or in trades like a plumber, I’d be going crazy. Their jobs depend on moving efficiently through the city.”
Van Schagen said co-ordinating major projects and smarter traffic-light synchronization would go a long way.
Brian Twaites, spokesperson for B.C. Emergency Health Services, said the Bay Street lane closure means paramedics must determine the best route for transporting patients to either Victoria General or Royal Jubilee hospital.
The dispatch centre will monitor any traffic congestion and will re-route as needed, said Twaites.
The city said it also has a siren-detection device at the intersection of Bay and Bridge streets, on the east end of the bridge.
When activated, it changes the signal for east-west traffic to green to allow traffic congestion to ease until the emergency vehicle has passed.
Signals fine-tuned to reduce congestion
Colleen Mycroft, spokesperson for the City of Victoria, said staff have been monitoring and adjusting traffic signal operations around the Johnson Street Bridge.
She said signal changes are being made daily to fine-tune operations and reduce congestion in Vic West, and bridge lifts during peak traffic hours have also been curtailed.
Mycroft said several alternative traffic configurations were considered during planning, including a single-lane alternating approach, but the full eastbound closure was “determined to provide the best balance given the constraints.”
The bridge was originally built in 1957 on foundations that date to 1903. It underwent seismic upgrades in 2000-2001 and $6.1 million in maintenance improvements in 2019.
As of this week, Mycroft said there have been fewer than 20 public inquiries regarding the project and its impact. Businesses hit by the bridge closure won’t be compensated, either directly or by waivers to property taxes, she said.
Mycroft said the city “empathizes with business owners” affected by the closure and is working to complete the work as quickly as possible.
The project’s completion can’t come soon enough for drivers frustrated by the delays.
Frederick Grouzet, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Victoria, said sitting in traffic can be difficult and sometimes manifests as road rage.
The key is to accept what is inevitable, said Grouzet: Your daily commute is going to take a little longer.
He suggests listening to podcasts or music, snacking or practising breathing exercises. Nothing is going to make the trip go faster, because shortcuts can lead to further delays, and overly aggressive moves won’t make much difference in the long run.
“It’s accepting the situation. If you have a plan about what you do during that time, there will be less frustration.”
Anger is a natural emotion when you have an obstacle to a goal, said Grouzet, so it’s about adjusting your outlook as you start your commute. “Your goal is not to be home within 30 minutes. Maybe it would take like an hour. Then the obstacle is no longer there.”
Grouzet said it’s never a good idea to respond to road rage, verbally or with your actions behind the wheel.
“The emotion that the other person is experiencing belongs to them. It does not have to be yours if you are prepared,” he said.