Uptown TOD

The Uptown Transit Hub and TOD will create a mixed-use community that includes a future-ready transit exchange, multi-modal mobility connections, housing and public spaces.

In addition, the plan includes retail and commercial space, and potential for amenities, such as child care, community-health facilities and educational services. 

On This Page:

Uptown's Future

Key Objectives

News

Uptown's Future

The development of the Uptown Transit Exchange and Transit Oriented Development creates a future-ready transit exchange for the community. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) involves urban planning strategies that focus on creating mixed-use, high-density communities around public transit hubs. These plans aim to increase housing supply, promote sustainable transportation options, and enhance overall livability.

The plan includes multiple buildings with hundreds of housing units, new public gathering spaces, active-transportation connections, retail and commercial space, and potential for amenities, such as child care, community-health facilities and educational services.

The new development will design will integrate with and enhance the existing Lochside and Galloping Goose regional trails to make it a key connection for active transportation and transit, with connections to downtown Victoria, the University of Victoria, the West Shore and the Saanich Peninsula.

In April 2022, the provincial government introduced changes to the Transportation Act that would allow the Province, through the BC Transportation Financing Authority (BCTFA), to acquire land for the purpose of building housing and community amenities to serve people near transit stations and bus exchanges.

Key Objectives

• Create a mixed-use community with a focus on transit and mobility hub connections, housing and public spaces.
• Provide a future-ready transit exchange.
• Increase market rental and housing unit supply.
• Community services such as government offices, childcare, education, civic amenities, health clinics and retail and restaurant space.

Key Features

• The rapid bus exchange will have capacity to meet BC Transit’s expected long term (20+ year) service planning assumptions for local and regional bus service connections in the Uptown area of 95+ buses per hour at peak.
• The site will integrate with and enhance the existing regional trail network (Galloping Goose and Lochside trails), attracting active transportation users.
• Convenient proximity to the Trans Canada Highway #1.

Public Engagement

A broad public engagement was conducted from August 19, 2024 to September 18, 2024 to ensure the public was informed about the very early stages of Uptown Transit-Oriented Development and had an opportunity to provide input to help inform planning and design moving forward.

Public engagement activities consisted of an online survey, a pop-up engagement event and an open house:

Online Survey: Monday, August 19, 2024 to Wednesday, September 18, 2024.

            Key Outcome: Over 600 surveys completed

Pop-Up Event: Thursday, September 5, 2024 from 4pm to 6pm

            Location: Galloping Goose overpass near the Uptown Shopping Centre

            Key Outcome: Over 400 people attended

Open House: Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 5pm to 8pm

  Location: New Life Community Fellowship Church 3900 Carey Road, Victoria B.C.

Key Outcome: Over 400 people attended

Visit the engagement site 

The Province will continue to engage the public on the Uptown TOD as it advances.

News

• April 8, 2024 - Lands secured for transit hub and transit-oriented development in Saanich.
• August 19, 2024 - Uptown transit-oriented development moving forward with public engagement