Thirteen municipalities, not one city
The City of Victoria is geographically small. Saanich, Esquimalt, Oak Bay and View Royal all begin within a few kilometres of downtown, and each is its own road authority with its own process.
That makes the Capital Region unusual: a job that would sit comfortably inside one municipality in Surrey or Vancouver can touch two or three here. A plan approved by Victoria is not a plan approved by Saanich, and work that crosses the line needs both.
Highway 1 and Highway 17 stay provincial throughout, including where Highway 1 runs down Douglas Street into the city.
Frequently asked
The City of Victoria for its own streets. Neighbouring municipalities — Saanich, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, View Royal and the rest of the Capital Region — each permit their own, and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure covers Highway 1 and Highway 17.
It needs approval from each authority it touches. This is more common in Greater Victoria than anywhere else we work, because the municipalities are small and close together.
Yes. Victoria is one of our service areas, and plans are prepared for the site and its road authority rather than from a template.
Who issues the permit
City of Victoria
Municipal streets in Victoria.
victoria.caBC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI)
Provincial highways and their rights-of-way, anywhere in BC — including where a highway runs through a municipality.
Provincial corridors through Victoria
- Highway 1 — Trans-Canada, Douglas Street to Mile 0
- Highway 17 — Patricia Bay Highway, to the Swartz Bay ferry
- Highway 1A / Old Island Highway