Monday April 17, 2023 | COLWOOD, BC [Updated 4 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Cold crashing ocean waves at the Colwood shoreline were a brash contrast to the warmth that brought out at least 30 people this morning to hear a much-appreciated announcement, that the popular beach along Ocean Boulevard will soon see a multi-use pathway installed from the Esquimalt Lagoon area over to the burgeoning Royal Beach development.
Usually the weather is a bit warmer at this time of year. Today the skies are overcast and whipping winds probably brought the 7°C official temperature down to a windchill of about 1°C.
Other than the impact of the oceanfront wind, there was no chill in the crowd. This was a happy group of residents, environmental proponents and the elected officials and their staff celebrating $6 million federal funding for building the multi-use pathway.
People from around the Greater Victoria region flock to the Colwood beach year round — but especially in summer — to enjoy nature for solitude or picnics, and also the large crowds that gather for high-profile events with music and food trucks. With raw ocean on one side and a quiet relatively protected lagoon on the other, Ocean Boulevard offers a unique range of options for public enjoyment.
Connecting this beautiful area to the Royal Bay area which supports high-density housing and commercial development is a golden opportunity to provide recreational access to the growing community.
Colwood council has deliberated in various ways over the years about protecting the natural beauty and conditions of the oceanfront beach which attracts people and the lagoon which attracts abundant natural wildlife.
Now just ahead of Earth Day (coming up April 22), this funding for a waterfront multi-use pathway in Colwood was officially announced by federal, provincial and UBCM representatives together with Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi.
The lead speaker was Terry Beach, MP (Burnaby-North Seymour) who is Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who spoke about his enjoyment of south Vancouver Island nature over the years and noted the importance of work being done by Colwood along the natural shoreline to — among other things — protect the impacts of sea level rise and safety to local drinking water.
How the federal funds are used:
BC Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang noted that the work along the beachfront was a strategic priority for Colwood, which she praised.
Also at the windy podium today was UBCM President Jen Ford who said that UBCM likes to see municipalities building up their infrastructure.
Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi introduced each of the speakers, and acknowledged the timeline of work (including the previous City of Colwood council) for undertaking public input and making the oceanfront and lagoon area an environmental and public-use priority.
Attending in front of the camera today were also local MLA Mitzi Dean (Esquimalt-Metchosin) and Metchosin Mayor Marie-Térèse Little, along with Colwood Councillors David Grove, Kim Jordison and Misty Olsen.
The overall goal is that a safe and accessible multi-use pathway will inspire more people to get outdoors and active to enjoy this spectacular setting, and allow people to walk, scooter and cycle from Colwood’s town centre to the waterfront and connect to the vibrant seaside village the many amenities envisioned for the growing residential area of Royal Beach.
Canada Community-Building Fund:
As of June 29, 2021, the Gas Tax Fund has been renamed the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF). It is a permanent source of funding provided up-front, twice-a-year, to provinces and territories, who in turn flow this funding to their municipalities to support local infrastructure priorities. Municipalities can pool, bank and borrow against this funding, which the federal government says provides significant financial flexibility.
Each year the CCBF delivers over $2 billion to 3,600 communities across the country. In recent years the funding has supported approximately 4,000 projects each year.
“By investing in infrastructure, the Government of Canada is growing our country’s economy, building resilient communities, and improving the lives of Canadians,” it was stated in a UBCM news release.
This year, the Province of British Columbia announced a federal investment of $103.5 million to support 45 community infrastructure projects.
Communities select how best to direct the funds with the flexibility to make strategic investments across various project categories:
- public transit, local roads and bridges, highways
- wastewater infrastructure, drinking water
- solid waste management, community energy systems, brownfield redevelopment
- capacity building
- local and regional airports, short-line rail, short-sea shipping
- disaster mitigation
- broadband and connectivity
- culture, tourism
- sport, recreation
- fire halls
Colwood waterfront stewardship:
The City of Colwood is creating a Waterfront Stewardship Plan to protect the sensitve ecology and archaeology of its coastline and lagoon areas through thoughtful design that guides people through the space in appropriate ways. This master plan will inform Council decision-making for the next 10 years.
The Waterfront Stewardship Plan is informed by existing policies including Colwood’s Official Community Plan, Active Transportation Network Plan, and Parks and Recreation Master Plan as well as public and stakeholder input.
The Waterfront Stewardship process began early in 2021 with detailed background analysis, review of previous studies and reports, and input from community members, Songhees and Esquimalt Nations and other key stakeholders, project partners, and Colwood’s Waterfront Stewardship Committee.
That first phase allowed for the development of early concepts for the waterfront which were shared with Colwood Council asking for their approval to proceed with continued community engagement.
“The plan identifies approaches that protect the highly sensitive wildlife habitat and archeological resources with design that enhances accessibility and directs human activity to the most appropriate areas beyond the lagoon along the full length of the waterfront. It will also support climate action and clean initiatives that strengthen the local economy and build a resilient community,” as stated by the City of Colwood.
Also attending at today’s announcement was Carol Brown who represents the Citizens’ Environment Network in Colwood (CENIC), who took the opportunity to discuss the travel of large ships through the Colwood and Vancouver Island seaways.
===== RELATED:
Waterfront multi-use pathway in Colwood supported with federal funds (April 16, 2023)
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===== ABOUT THE WRITER & ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Mary P Brooke is the editor and publisher of Island Social Trends as published daily at islandsocialtrends.ca.
She has been covering politics, business, education and communities through a socioeconomic lens since 2008 on south Vancouver Island (previously as West Shore Voice News, and before that both Sooke Voice News and MapleLine Magazine).
Ms Brooke followed and wrote extensively about the COVID pandemic during 2020-2022, and continues to follow the topic as new developments arise. She has covered Sooke School District 62 (SD62) in depth since 2014. Mary P Brooke now reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery.
Among other qualifications, Ms Brooke holds a health sciences B.Sc., a university Certificate in Public Relations, and an industry certificate in digital marketing. In the 1990s she was a co-founder of the Professional Editors Association of Vancouver Island and wrote the curriculum for the Writing for Business and Journalism Program at the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria, BC.