The long wait is over.
After being considered for 10 years, the last intersection in Oak Bay without vehicle-sensing traffic lights is finally getting upgraded this fall.
Lights at the intersection of Foul Bay and Lansdowne roads will change accordingly based on traffic, which will be sensed by the controller.
“There will be a modern controller so that you can control the signal timings to suit the demand from the vehicles,” said Dave Marshall, Oak Bay director of engineering. “It’ll sense the vehicles that need to be accommodated, so that way you don’t have to sit there and wait if there’s nobody else in the intersection.”
The cost of the project is approximately $220,000. It was put into Oak Bay’s budget last year, but the search was on for funding partners, said mayor Nils Jensen. Currently, Oak Bay has received grants from the CRD and ICBC for a total of $125,000. Oak Bay is also working on another funding possibility of about $50,000, said Jensen.
ICBC’s grant is contingent on the upgrade being finished by Dec. 31 of this year.
The upgrade will serve to improve the flow of traffic and the safety of cyclists, said Jensen.
“That’s one of our busiest cycling corridors,” said Jensen. “We’re going to make it safer for cyclists to cross from one side to the other. We’re going to be embedding a colour into the pavement as people are going north on Foul Bay, because that intersection doesn’t align fully.”
The northwest part of the intersection is in Saanich, but this intersection is Oak Bay’s responsibility.
“We’re essentially bringing it up to 2014 standards,” said Jensen.