With the petition that Quadra and McKenzie not be reduced to single auto traffic on either side of the road at well over 6000 signatures, we are on the cusp of a potential victory for Quadra on Monday Jan 19, 2026, but we cannot let our guard down, and now is the critical time to push. Council is poised to adopt the plan in principle this Monday.
The McKenzie lanes are also up in the air with the staff and council appearing poised to let the decision be made, not by the public, but by BC Transit and Saanich, both of which and the Province have an agenda advanced by the development lobby of utilizing so called rapid transit bus lanes to massively advance major upzoning along transportation corridors.
The District and its Mayor is still pushing 18 storey towers in core areas of the plan, despite that the public have made absolutely clear that this is not what it wants.
On the plus side, the Mayor in his memo attached to the agenda item concerning the plan proposal has written a recommendation that "the transportation cross sections that contemplate lane reduction on Quadra Street be removed from the draft Quadra McKenzie Plan".
This petition and its supporters appear to have done a mile of work toward the Mayor's change of stance, if not having been decisive in that regard, which is most likely.
It is our time not only to ensure that Quadra keep its auto lanes on such a critical transportation artery, but to strongly push for the same for McKenzie, lest council be able to ignore the public; and the District and BC Transit decide among themselves as to McKenzie's fate, through an inside decision, in undemocratic fashion.
We have seen how disastrous removing a vehicular lane between Shelbourne and UVic has been, with regular traffic jams and idling traffic being the result. We cannot let this happen to the whole of McKenzie.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is the link to the agenda for the meeting and instructions on how to attend:
Saanich Committee of the Whole Agenda - Monday Jan 19, 2026
The following instructions were received by email from Saanich (note that registration for speaking at the meeting is not required, but is recommended):
Saanich Council will consider the Proposed Quadra McKenzie Plan at a Committee of the Whole meeting to be held on Monday, January 19, 2026, in Council Chambers, Saanich Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue, commencing at 6:30 p.m.
To speak at the meeting, you may register to speak in person or via video on MS Teams. Please register by:
Emailing the meeting date, agenda item you wish to speak to, and your phone number to council@saanich.ca; or
By calling 250-475-5501 and specifying which meeting date and agenda item you wish to speak to.
Deadline for registration is 12:00 p.m., noon, on the day of the meeting. An opportunity to speak during the meeting will be available, please watch the webstream for details. All meetings are streamed live on Saanich.ca
Instructions will be emailed to all registrants on the afternoon of the meeting.
Written correspondence received up to 12:00 p.m., noon, on the day of the meeting will be copied to Council for their consideration. All correspondence submitted will form part of the public record and may be published in a meeting agenda.
Send your comments to Council by emailing council@saanich.ca
Mail your comments by post to Legislative Services, District of Saanich, 770 Vernon Avenue, Victoria, BC V8X 2W7.
Leave your written comments in the dropbox by the main door at Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue.
The agenda package is available online, the Thursday before the meeting at Saanich.ca/agenda .
If, after viewing the agenda, you have any questions concerning the report's contents, please contact the Planning Department at 250-475-5471.
If you have any questions concerning meeting procedures, please contact the Legislative Services Division at 250-475-5501 or by email at council@saanich.ca
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information: Please contact SaanichPetition@mail.com
Hope to see you at the Saanich Council Meeting on Monday!
Thank you again for all of your support!!!
We have applied major pressure, which has shaken the plan to the point where the bizarre planning for sections of Quadra to have a single vehicular lane on either side of the street (a disaster for emergency vehicles) are being recommended by the Mayor to be scrapped.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: That it is not required to donate to this petition, no matter what Change.org's marketing suggests. Donated money goes to Change.org, not to this petition.