BC Transit’s new handyDART Centre in View Royal earns “Salmon Safe” certification
Transit System: Victoria
26 September 2022
Pictured left to right: Aaron Lamb (Chief Sustainability Officer, BC Transit) David Marshall (CEO Fraser Basin Council)
BC Transit’s new handyDART Centre in View Royal, set to open in 2024, has been certified as Vancouver Island’s first “Salmon Safe” site. The BC Transit site is being recognized for excellence in water conservation, stormwater management and restoration of a stream that runs into the salmon-bearing Craigflower Creek. Certification of the site was announced today by the non-profit Fraser Basin Council and its Salmon-Safe program, which recognizes progressive, environmentally friendly land and water management practices in BC.
“Salmon-Safe certification reflects exemplary stewardship of urban and agricultural lands,” said Theresa Fresco, program manager with the Fraser Basin Council. “BC Transit has taken great care and leadership at the new handyDART centre to improve the ecology of a previously degraded industrial site, adopt sound water management practices and restore a stream and riparian areas.”
“We’ve been working with local streamkeepers, nearby residents and local experts to ensure that we’re enhancing the stream that runs through the site, which is currently the most significant environmental restoration project underway in the Craigflower Creek watershed,” said BC Transit’s Chief Sustainability Officer and VP of Asset Management Aaron Lamb. “This is a great example of how we can partner with the community to leave something in better shape than we found it through redevelopment.”
Redevelopment of the property came with environmental challenges. When the Island Highway was built in the 1990s, a stream crossing the property and contributing to Craigflower Creek had previously been re-routed once or twice. Water flow was variable, and the riparian zone was overgrown with invasive plants. Under BC’s Transit’s development plan, the stream was realigned to the western and southern edge of the property to reconnect it to Craigflower Creek, and both the stream and streamside habitat were expanded and improved.
A Salmon-Safe expert assessment team visited the Handy DART construction site in March 2022. They reviewed BC Transit’s environmental management plan, which includes extensive erosion and sediment controls and water quality monitoring.
About the Fraser Basin Council and Salmon-Safe BC
The Fraser Basin Council (FBC) is a non-profit organization that brings people together to advance sustainability in British Columbia. FBC manages the Salmon-Safe BC program to encourage and recognize land and water management practices in both urban and agricultural settings to better protect and restore Pacific salmon habitat and water quality. Salmon-Safe urban certification standards apply to variety of urban development landscapes, ranging from high-density urban infill to industrial parks. While the standards are designed as a standalone program, they can also complement other leading certification standards, such as LEED, Sustainable Sites, Envision, and Earth Advantage.
