Connecting Sooke, One Missing Link at a Time

How do we make Sooke more walkable? Sidewalks – or rather, the lack of them – are one of the things we hear about most. We absolutely need more sidewalks, but what most of us are really asking for is walkability. We want to get from home to school, transit, shops, parks and neighbours safely without automatically getting in a car. Sometimes what's missing isn't a whole new sidewalk. It's one missing connection.

We have kids who live too close to school to qualify for a school bus, but don't have a safe walking route. Getting to shops and services sometimes means walking along the narrow edge of a road. And what's difficult on foot can be impossible with a wheelchair, mobility scooter or stroller. So let's identify those gaps and connect the pieces we already have. Sometimes that means a sidewalk. Sometimes a separated trail or pathway makes more sense. Sometimes it's a safer crossing. A small improvement can make an entire route safer and more useful.

Of course, filling gaps isn't always cheap. Open ditches mean drainage work. Utilities may need moving. There are trees, slopes, engineering, and right-of-way considerations. That's why we also need to stop creating new gaps. The best time to build this infrastructure is when development happens. New development should build and pay for infrastructure along its frontage. Waiving those requirements can leave taxpayers with a much more expensive problem later.

For the gaps we've inherited, let's prioritize where we'll make the biggest difference: safe routes to schools, connections to transit and shops, links between neighbourhoods, and places where a trail, pathway, or safer crossing could complete a route. We can't fix everything at once, but we can stop creating new gaps and start connecting Sooke, one missing piece at a time.

Tell us: Where is Sooke's most important missing walking connection?