Generally, we urge communities to be cautious when talk of bypasses comes up. But the one proposed for Lake Cowichan that’s getting interest from all kinds of potential partners right now could really be a good thing for the town.
We’ve all seen how traditional bypasses can hurt communities and even kill business districts. No need to look very far. There are examples of this dotted across Vancouver Island. It’s why we’ve always been wary of the oft-argued desire for a bypass around the Highway 1 corridor through Duncan. Lest we forget, the corridor is actually an old bypass of the city already.
In general, routing people out of your commercial district is not usually the greatest idea. Less traffic means less business for most. But there can be instances where bypasses, properly done, can be a good idea. Already vibrant, big cities don’t generally need to worry about people not coming into town if they can drive around it, as enough people’s destination is the town itself. It’s smaller communities that need to keep the pitfalls of less traffic in mind. You also generally don’t want to allow new commercial development along the bypass, or you end up just sucking business out of town, and creating new traffic woes on what is supposed to be your traffic solution.
But the proposed new road around Lake Cowichan is something different than your traditional bypass. Development of such a road could really open up a whole new area for possible residential and industrial development. It could be a good way to increase the vibrancy of the community, and solve some problems with truck taffic, which is mostly not stopping in town anyway, at the same time.
Cowichan Lake is a growing area. More people moving in will mean more people heading into the Town of Lake Cowichan to patronize local businesses. With enough growth, more businesses and services begin to pop up. This could prove to be a milestone for the future of the community.
Which is where this new road would differ from what a traditional bypass should look like. The community would want to see development along this new roadway, with other roads springing from it as time goes on. The desire would be to see people living and working along the new road.
While any actual construction is still a long way into the future, if it goes ahead, the interest in the project from government and other stakeholders is a good sign.
Speaking of roads, we’d still like to see a roadway opened up from Cowichan Lake to Port Alberni. Such a connection could only be a good thing for both communities.
Oh well, one thing at a time.