More seismic work in store for schools as standards raised

Sites already revamped might get further upgrades

New standards being brought in by the province could lead to more schools in the Greater Victoria district receiving seismic work.

The district has already seen a string of schools given seismic upgrades, and seismic improvements are part of a $73.3-million plan for Victoria High School backed by the Greater Victoria school board this week.

In some cases, the additional seismic work could be limited to wings or portions of schools where problems are found, said district secretary-treasurer Mark Walsh.

And there will be repeat business, with some schools getting a higher risk rating. “A number of schools previously done will end up back on the seismic list,” Walsh said.

More time will be needed to meet all seismic concerns, he said.

“I think it’s going to add more than a few years to Greater Victoria’s seismic program,” he said. “We had the finish line ahead of us, but that’s definitely going to be a longer term now.”

The current cost estimate for upgrading district schools on the list for desired seismic work is close to $120 million.

No projects already underway will be delayed.

The new standards arise from changes to the 2015 National Building Code, which note increased intensity and duration of assumed ground motions in the Cascadia subduction zone that runs along Vancouver Island’s west coast.

Testing under the new standards will be completed in the fall, concentrating on schools on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, and in Richmond due to soft soils. There are 30 being tested in the Greater Victoria district, 11 in Sooke, eight in Saanich and seven in the Gulf Islands.

“It’s due to what they know is the earthquake risk now with respect to Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii,” Walsh said of local schools that have been identified.

Along with that, making schools seismically sound tops the priorities outlined in the Greater Victoria district’s five-year capital plan, which has been approved for submission to the Ministry of Education,

In the plan, the district is looking to secure provincial backing for new seismic projects at Shoreline and Cedar Hill middle schools, and Craigflower and Braefoot elementary schools. Seismic work is underway at Campus View Elementary, which is the 16th seismic project to go ahead in the district.

New to the district’s list of schools singled out for seismic needs are Richmond Elementary, which has had periodic use since its closure in 2004, and Tolmie Elementary, home to the district’s administrative offices and closed as a school in the early 1980s.

Reopening of the schools is not imminent.

“We don’t have active plans, but what we’re seeing is that Tillicum Elementary is filling up and Quadra Elementary is filling up,” Walsh said.

“What we’re trying to do is plan ahead. If the ministry was to give us dollars to do seismic, then we’d be able to incorporate that into opening at some point.”

The plan also presents the idea of the district acquiring a site for a new elementary school in the core of Victoria.

“It’s hard to miss the growth in the core area of Victoria,” Walsh said. “This would be a number of years away, but when you’re looking at the way that people are living now and the cost of housing, there’s more families living in condos and that kind of thing.”

Keeping seismic efforts at the forefront is the right direction for the district to go in the capital plan, said Audrey Smith, president of the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils. “I think that, for the most part, seismic is really important to the populace,” Smith said.

Seismic projects are also something that the Ministry of Education is focusing on.

“The ministry promised to get this done because the populace has pressured them for it.”

Education Minister Rob Fleming announced in October 2016 that a plan was in place to speed up seismic work.