The chief of the Malahat Fire Department says he has informed the province that eliminating left-hand turns onto the highway is not the way to go.
Rob Patteson says he was encouraged by ministry of transportation's willingness to listen at a public consultation session at Shawnigan Lake Community Centre last night on future Malahat improvements.
Patterson says the province wants to eliminate as many left-hand turns onto the Malahat as possible, but he warned them of the hindrance that would be to residents who rely on Malahat Village.
"That is our community hub. Everything that happens in our community goes on there. That's where we get our mail; that's where we get our groceries. That's where we find out what's going on in the community with the notice boards and that there. A lot of local residents are not willing to put on another 20 kilometers just to go for dinner or just to go get mail. They'll go somewhere else."
Patterson says he'd like to see the use of protected merge lanes for left-hand turns onto the Malahat.