Maja Tait | Contributed
The holidays are a festive time to share with loved ones and a joyous season that brings our community together.
Seeing so many participate in the Sooke Firefighter’s Santa Run and the Santa Parade was a delight. Thank you to the volunteers who made these festivities possible and all for helping our holiday spirit shine brightly.
As this year ends, I am ecstatic to celebrate a significant funding milestone. The district has been successful in its most recent federal grant application to help us realize the Little River Crossing pedestrian corridor project – receiving $1.3 million in federal funding.
Construction will begin next year on the long-awaited and much-needed project with a goal of substantial completion by summer 2025.
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The bridge and associated trails for Little River Crossing will provide critical infrastructure to connect residents in the Sunriver neighbourhood with the Sooke town centre and nearby schools.
The crossing will offer safe and efficient travel over Little River (DeMamiel Creek), drastically improving residents’ ability to reach desired destinations, including schools, businesses and recreation amenities. The project will also incorporate interpretative signage to educate users on the cultural and natural history of the area.
In facilitating this instrumental connectivity, the project will support alternative modes of transportation, transforming an eight-kilometre round-trip drive on Highway 14 into an approximately one-kilometre round-trip walk or roll to school for students.
The crossing, initially recommended by the Parks and Trails advisory committee (2016) and supported through Capital Regional District Active School Planning (Journey - 2018, Poirier – 2018, Sooke - 2021) and the District of Sooke’s Parks and Trails Master Plan (2020), is the result of the district’s steadfast commitment to increase community connectivity and make getting around Sooke safer.
It has been a long time coming, and I’m thrilled that we will soon be breaking ground on this exciting project for our community!
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2023, I’m reflecting on the last 12 months and the progress in our community.
We broke ground on another major road project with the Church/Throup Road roundabout.
We launched a community data portal to make research and analysis more accessible to community stakeholders and businesses seeking information to make decisions about investing in Sooke. We transitioned to 24/7 fire services and began transitioning to 24/7 policing services.
We made streetlight and transit stop improvements and are working on several crosswalk improvements.
We welcomed Amazing Race Canada and received national exposure alongside an economic boost from the film industry.
We were home to an exciting provincial announcement on a new integrated health care centre coming to Sooke.
We launched a new Community Climate Action seed funding program that supports neighbourhoods mobilizing on FireSmart initiatives and events, spotlighting our parks and assisting with several other significant community-based initiatives, including community garden projects and education workshops.
Now, we’re celebrating $1.5 million in funding with $1.3 million in federal funds for Little River Crossing and $198,000 to support Sooke’s FireSmart program.
Next, council is focused on an executive search for our chief administrative officer, continuing strategic planning and resuming dialogue on the official community plan while also learning more about the details of what new provincial zoning regulations and rules on short-term rental accommodations mean for Sooke.
Sooke Municipal Hall will be closed from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1 to allow staff to enjoy the holiday with their families. Please note that this closure does not impact essential services. Many thanks to our first responders and parks and wastewater services staff, who are committed to ensuring the safety of our community and public spaces.
During this season of kindness and good tidings, I thank the community for your continued collaboration and support. I am proud to call Sooke home and witness the generosity of your help through initiatives such as the Sooke Christmas Bureau, the Sooke Fire Fighters Charitable Giving Campaign and many more.
Be well, Sooke. From my family to yours, best wishes this holiday season.
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Maja Tait is the mayor of Sooke. Email mtait@sooke.ca.