
Strathcona Regional District Wants to Hear About Your Transportation Needs
SRD invites community members to provide input on transportation needs and opportunities through online and paper surveys, available from now until August 31st, 2022.
The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) invites community members to provide input on transportation needs and opportunities through online and paper surveys, available from now until August 31st, 2022. The transportation survey is open to community members within the larger SRD area including First Nations and Electoral Area A but does not include Electoral Area B (Cortes Island), Electoral Area C (Discovery Islands) or the southern part of Electoral Area D (south of Campbell River) in this study.
The survey is part of a larger study initiated by the Strathcona Regional District to identify options for providing public transportation to people living in small or remote communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The intent is to determine whether public transportation is feasible for connecting members of these communities to larger regional centres.
Community feedback matters and will help us understand the following:
- Existing regional travel patterns
- Willingness to use a public transportation service
- Acceptable round-trip fares
- Other ideas on how to improve transportation options in your community
“The challenges associated with living in small, remote communities being able to access basic services (such as grocery shopping, retail or medical services) in Campbell River are well documented and have been identified by the Strathcona Community Health Network as a priority for resolution,” said SRD Board Chair Brad Unger. “Individual communities had already been exploring this and so we are pleased that the larger group of communities within our region can come together to explore this more holistically through this study.”
In mid-2022, WATT Consulting Group was chosen to identify and evaluate options for establishing one or more public transportation services to connect west coast communities with Campbell River.
As part of this study, the project team is conducting widespread public engagement as well as outreach in various communities in the Strathcona Regional District. The engagement is a mix of online, paper, and mailout surveys that will be conducted over a six-week period, starting July 20, 2022 and ending August 31, 2022. In addition to the surveys, WATT will be reaching out to seniors groups, community groups, and regional organizations like VIHA, FNHA, BC Transit, etc. to further understand community transportation needs and assess opportunities for collaboration with respect to transportation.
Based on the feedback received, WATT will then develop options for transportation as well associated service levels (how many days a week service will run and how often) and costs for these options. Costs will take into consideration local climate, topography, and their effect on a transportation service that operates in these conditions.
To access the survey online or to learn more about the project, please visit www.srd.ca/wc-transportation-study.
Paper surveys are available at the following locations:
Tahsis
- Village of Tahsis Office
- Tahsis Building Supply
- Tahsis Supermarket
- Tahsis Recreation Centre
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tleset’h First Nations
- Kyuquot Post Office
- KCFN Administration Office
- KCFN Health Clinic
Gold River
- Village of Gold River Office
- Village Co-op Board
- Gold River Post Office
Village of Sayward
- Village of Sayward office
- Sayward Valley RV Park
- Sayward Primary Health Centre
Questions for the Regional District may be directed to administration@srd.ca or by calling 1-877-830-2990.
To contact the project team, please email WCTS@wattconsultinggroup.com.
Media Contact:
Tom Yates, Strathcona Regional District – Corporate Services Manager
250-830-6704 | tyates@srd.ca