Safe. Connected. Accessible. Efficient. Accountable.
Getting around Saanich safely shouldn’t depend on which street you live on. Residents have clearly identified traffic management, infrastructure and road safety as significant concerns, with traffic management among Saanich’s lowest-rated services. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a call to action.
Saanich needs a transportation system that works for everyone. Residents shouldn’t have to choose between safe streets, reliable transit, efficient traffic flow and infrastructure that works for people walking, cycling, rolling and driving. We can have all of them.
Transportation shouldn’t divide us. Transportation should connect us. Too many narratives promote transportation as a divisive issue. That’s not how Saanich moves. We drive, walk, take the bus and bike, often all in the same day. The real question isn’t which mode wins, it’s whether we’re getting the right projects, in the right places, at a cost residents can afford.
I’m not running on a transportation ideology. I’m running on transportation that works.
Transportation is more than moving vehicles. It is about connecting people to their homes, schools, jobs, businesses, parks and services safely, reliably and affordably. When traffic doesn’t move, everyone is affected including buses, deliveries, local businesses and emergency responders. At the same time, improving vehicle flow can be accomplished with safe pedestrian crossings, accessible sidewalks, cycling infrastructure and reliable transit. Every mode matters. The network must work as a whole.
Why Transportation Matters to Me
My approach starts with community safety, particularly school routes and pedestrian crossings. These are the sidewalks and pathways our seniors, students and residents with mobility challenges rely on every day. Twenty-two years ago, unsafe school routes for my sons called me to civic advocacy. Addressing that concern required sustained coordination with residents, municipal staff, elected officials and multiple levels of government. Within five years my efforts prioritized and saw through completion, the Burnside Road Streetscape improvement project. I know what it takes to move a safety concern from a kitchen-table conversation to a completed project, because I have done it.
My professional experience adds another perspective. I built a career in information technology and management consulting across North America, including municipal and provincial governments. As a Director of Local Government, I led modernization initiatives involving municipal finance, land-use planning, permitting, licensing and asset management.
That experience taught me how interconnected municipal operations are and how important it is to establish priorities, coordinate across departments and agencies, manage project delivery, measure results and make responsible use of public funds. I understand the mechanisms required to turn transportation policy into results.
Before Saanich commits to the next big-ticket project, Council needs to understand the condition and capacity of our existing transportation network and establish clear priorities, with safety for our most vulnerable residents first. Major arteries continue to congest while funding is allocated to projects with confined scope and little democratic engagement. Our streets aren’t just lines on a map. They’re how people move through Saanich every day.
My approach is straightforward: protect people, get the fundamentals right, prioritize what matters most and make sure public investment delivers results.
Prioritizing safety. Expanding efficiency. Delivering results.
That’s transportation that works.
My Transportation Priorities
1. Put safety first.
Prioritize the locations where people are at risk, particularly school routes, crossings, narrow roads, missing sidewalks and areas where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles must share limited space.
Safety improvements should be based on evidence, local knowledge and demonstrated need.
2. Make the transportation network work as a whole.
Walking, cycling, transit and driving are not competing transportation systems. They are interconnected parts of one network. Saanich needs to design transportation corridors so people can move safely and predictably while maintaining practical access for residents, buses, emergency responders, trades, deliveries and local businesses.
Don’t prioritize one mode over another make the network work better for everyone.
3. Improve traffic flow without sacrificing safety.
Congestion is more than an inconvenience. Poor traffic flow can affect transit reliability, emergency response, deliveries, businesses and people simply trying to get where they need to go. Transportation planning needs to consider how street design, turning movements, signals and traffic management affect the entire network while ensuring safe crossings, accessible sidewalks, cycling routes and reliable transit.
Better traffic flow and safe travel are not opposing goals. Responsible planning delivers both.
4. Get the fundamentals right.
Saanich needs a clear and transparent transportation infrastructure priority list. Roads, sidewalks, crossings, drainage, lighting, signals and other essential infrastructure must be maintained and renewed. Council should understand the condition of existing assets and the consequences of deferring maintenance before committing public money to less critical projects.
Make every transportation investment work harder for residents.
5. Make school travel safer.
Every child should be able to get to school safely. I will continue advocating for practical improvements to school routes, including sidewalks, crossings, visibility, appropriate traffic-calming measures and better communication with schools and families. My commitment to safer school travel isn’t new. It is where my civic involvement began.
6. Make transit part of transportation that works.
Council can be a strong advocate for reliable, accessible and useful transit. Saanich needs to work with BC Transit to improve service where residents need it most and ensure that land-use, road and transportation decisions support transit rather than creating new bottlenecks or disconnected routes. Transit is an essential part of a transportation network that works.