As summer ferry traffic is winding down the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) is continuing to make changes to Gibsons Way to help ease traffic.
MOTI project manager Ashok Bhatti, was on hand for a workshop with Town of Gibsons council Tuesday, Sept. 22 to announce the ministry is investing another $130,000 to install wireless sensors that will help harmonize traffic lights from North Road to Payne Road.
The plan, set for completion by the end of November, should help cut down on wait times turning onto Gibsons Way at the North Road intersection, according to Bhatti.
"We're trying to provide the southbound to westbound movement as much green time as possible," he said, "One of the reasons for the challenges at that intersection is that we're forcing a lot of that movement into red lights."
Bhatti said the new system will sense when cars are backed up on North Road, unable to turn onto Gibsons Way. When a yet-to-be determined volume of cars has lined up, the sensors will trigger the traffic lights throughout the Gibsons Way corridor to co-ordinate and go green.
The downside of that, councillors pointed out, is that it will make it difficult to cross Gibsons Way. Bhatti said the system would only work during times of heavy ferry traffic.
Coun. Chris Koopmans said he is still often asked when the trial will be over, whether the changes can ever be reversed and if the highway will be returned to its original four-lane configuration.
"It's been clearly stated to the public that it was a trial period and that we would scrub out the lines if it wasn't working," Koopmans said.
He asked Bhatti if that is still a consideration.
Batti said with four lanes, Gibsons Way had a traffic accident rate twice the provincial average, so MOTI would likely not be considering a return to four lanes.
"We can't simply go back to the way it was," he said. "From a collision standpoint, if we fall back to the way it was, we really haven't done anything to resolve those accidents."
Bhatti said the trial will continue at least until next summer so MOTI will have enough time and data to evaluate the changes over the course of a full year.
Gibsons Marketplace IGA owner Bob Hoy spoke at the workshop representing businesses on Gibsons Way. He said traffic tie-ups on the highway have resulted in frustrated customers and fewer people bothering to come into the stores.
"Businesses have suffered greatly," he said. "Not only are we losing tourists, we're losing locals.
Bhatti said the concerns of businesses are still important to MOTI and that Hoy's input would be taken into mind as the analysis continues.
