A key section of the Galloping Goose Regional Trail closed on June 1, marking the beginning of an extended closure period. While this closure is longer than anyone would prefer, it creates an opportunity for the Capital Regional District (CRD), in collaboration with BC Hydro and the City of Victoria, to coordinate major infrastructure work along the corridor to reduce the need for repeated closures and address these critical improvements in one period. The infrastructure work includes the BC Hydro cable replacement, City of Victoria Cecilia Ravine Park sanitary sewer upgrades, and the long anticipated CRD Regional Trestles Renewal, Trails Widening and Lighting Project.
The Galloping Goose and Lochside regional trails were never built for the volume they carry today. Established along existing travel routes, these corridors began as early 20th century railways and were gradually repurposed into regional multi use trails, but their infrastructure has not kept pace with how the region now depends on them for daily transportation, especially in busy areas. Today, the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails form the backbone of the region’s multi use trail network, with popular connections such as the Selkirk Trestle supporting travel across the corridor.
In 2025, regional trails in the capital region recorded 4.4 million visits, demonstrating their role in commuting, recreation, and access to daily destinations. Data from June 20, 2025, to September 22, 2025, shows average daily volumes of 4,810 users on the Galloping Goose north of Selkirk Trestle, 3,335 south of Culduthel Street, and 2,769 on the Lochside south of Nigel Avenue, representing increases of 4.4 percent, 6.6 percent, and 6.3 percent respectively compared to 2024. These volumes highlight why the closure is disruptive.
The need for trail widening, trestle upgrades, and lighting has been clear for many years. The 2016 Regional Trails Management Plan identified widening key sections of the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails, along with studying lighting, as priorities. A 2020 study confirmed that many busy sections are only three to four metres wide, with no lighting in place. It also identified the Selkirk, Brett, and Swan Lake trestles as key constraints, noting that they are aging and nearing the end of their service life and will require major investment over time.
These findings led the CRD to advance the Regional Trestles Renewal, Trails Widening and Lighting Project. The project focuses on upgrading heavily used sections of the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails by renewing aging trestles, widening sections to create separated bicycle and pedestrian pathways, and adding energy efficient lighting to improve safety, accessibility, and user comfort. This work requires significant planning, coordination, and financing to reflect current trail use. Delivering the project will also require phased construction over several years, with temporary closures and detours as work progresses. Widening the trail, and separating cyclists from pedestrians and mobility device users, will bring these busy areas into alignment with CRD policy for high use urban trails and the British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide.
This level of use is reflected in the scale of investment needed and the value delivered through high daily use. For context, the Keating Cross Road overpass cost $76.8 million in 2026. The CRD’s Regional Trestles Renewal, Trails Widening and Lighting Project is estimated at $53.5 million and will serve high daily volumes, easing pressure on other corridors. The work includes up to 4 kilometres of widening on the Galloping Goose between Selkirk Trestle and Grange Road, adjacent to McKenzie Avenue, and 2 kilometres on the Lochside between the Switch Bridge and the area of McKenzie Avenue and Borden Street. In widened sections, the separated design will provide dedicated space for walking and wheeling on one side and two-way cycling on the other.
The project will be completed in phases over several years. It will begin on the Galloping Goose Regional Trail between Gorge Road and Culduthel Street, then extend toward Selkirk Trestle and McKenzie Avenue before continuing along the Lochside Regional Trail. Later phases will include upgrades to key structures such as the Brett Avenue and Swan Lake trestles. For people who rely on these trails for daily travel, closures and detours are not minor inconveniences. They add time, introduce unfamiliar conditions, and disrupt routines. This disruption will move section by section, with some sections under construction at the same time over the coming years.
The CRD is asking everyone who uses the trail, lives or works nearby or travels through the area to help by planning ahead, allowing extra time, checking trail conditions before leaving, anticipating changing conditions on nearby streets and trails, and slowing down to give people space. These actions will help keep people safe and the community moving while work is underway.
The regional trails we value today are the remnants of a different era. Over time, those corridors have taken on a much larger active transportation role and now support millions of visits each year. The work ahead reflects a long overdue investment in infrastructure that has become essential to how the region moves. While there will be short term impacts, this work is a long-term transformation, shifting the corridor from a constrained shared path to a modern, separated facility. When complete, these trails will be safer, more reliable, and built for the people who use them, reflecting the kind of infrastructure found in leading cities and regions across North America.
Be responsible. Slow down. Give space. Stay informed. Let’s show how our region works together.
Project updates, maps, and construction information are available at crd.ca/RTWL. Questions can be directed to construction@crd.bc.ca.
