How Bad Is the Colwood Crawl, Really, for West Shore Commuters in 2026?

Where Does the Colwood Crawl Actually Happen?

Locals know that the "Colwood Crawl" barely touches Colwood itself. The real bottleneck is the stretch of Highway 1 between the McKenzie Avenue interchange and the Colwood interchange, where four lanes narrow down and the traffic from Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, and Sooke all feeds into the same corridor. That section carries about 85,000 vehicles every day, according to the Ministry of Transportation. On weekday afternoons, it backs up from the Six Mile Road area all the way past the Helmcken Road exit.

The $85 million McKenzie interchange project that wrapped at the end of 2019 made a real difference. It used to be worse. Anyone who sat through the pre-2019 version remembers a daily parking lot that could eat 20 minutes just getting from the Selkirk Trestle to McKenzie. The interchange cut roughly 22 minutes off the worst of that bottleneck. But demand keeps growing, and the West Shore keeps adding homes and people.

What Are the Actual Commute Times in 2026?

I have driven this route hundreds of times, and here is what the numbers really look like right now:

The key insight: leaving just 15 minutes earlier or later changes everything. A 7 a.m. departure from Langford often clears the highway in under 30 minutes. Leave at 7:45 and you add 20 minutes easily. Same thing on the return trip. I know people who shift their workday by half an hour just to dodge the worst of it, and it works.

The Blink RapidBus: How Transit Compares

BC Transit's Blink RapidBus (Route 95) runs from the Langford Exchange down the Trans-Canada Highway, through the Douglas Street corridor, to downtown and the Legislature. In the morning peak, it runs every 10 to 15 minutes. The ride from Langford Exchange to Douglas and Yates takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic.

The province announced a $95 million investment in dedicated bus lanes along Highway 1 between the McKenzie and Colwood interchanges, and construction is underway in 2026. Once complete, those lanes are expected to cut another 20 to 30 minutes off the bus commute during peak hours. That would put the RapidBus at roughly 30 to 40 minutes from Langford to downtown, competitive with driving but without the stress.

Locals who take the bus know one thing: you can read, answer emails, or just stare out the window while the cars inch along beside you. The tradeoff is less flexibility and the bus stop walk at both ends, but for a growing number of West Shore commuters, it is the smarter play.

Can You Bike the Galloping Goose Instead?

Yes, and a lot of people do. The Galloping Goose Regional Trail runs from downtown Victoria all the way through View Royal, Colwood, and Langford, following the old rail bed. From Langford Exchange to the Selkirk Trestle (the downtown end), the trail is about 18 kilometres on paved, mostly flat multi-use path.

An average cyclist covers that in about 45 minutes to an hour. An e-bike does it in 30 to 40 minutes. The trail is separated from traffic for almost the entire route, so you skip the crawl entirely. The downside is the weather: Victoria's mild winters mean you can bike year-round, but you will get wet on the days the rain blows sideways. A good set of fenders and rain gear makes it doable.

Real estate note: homes near the Galloping Goose trail in View Royal, Colwood, and Langford consistently sell for a premium. Proximity to the trail is a feature buyers ask for by name now, and it shows in the numbers. If commuting by bike matters to you, the trail adjacency should be on your checklist.

How the Commute Affects Home Prices on the West Shore

Here is the part that matters for anyone buying. The West Shore exists because of the commute. Lower home prices on this side of the highway are not a coincidence. You are trading time for equity. A single-family home in Langford with similar square footage to one in Saanich or Victoria proper might cost you $200,000 to $400,000 less, and the gap has held steady even as Langford prices have climbed.

The tradeoff is real. That 30 to 40 extra minutes each way per day adds up to roughly 250 hours a year in the car, or about 10 full days. The question is whether the equity gain and the lifestyle on the West Shore (newer homes, bigger lots, closer access to Goldstream Park and Thetis Lake) is worth those hours.

For a lot of our clients, the answer is yes. Young families stretching their dollar, retirees who do not commute daily but want the space, and remote workers who drive into town once or twice a week all find the math works. For someone who needs to be downtown by 8 a.m. sharp five days a week, the calculation is different.

What About Sooke and Metchosin?

Go further west and the numbers change again. Sooke to downtown Victoria is about 40 kilometres and 40 minutes off-peak, but easily 60 to 75 minutes in rush hour. That route also depends on the single-lane Sooke Road (Highway 14), which has its own bottlenecks around Otter Point and the Sooke River bridge. Sooke commuters face the longest daily trip of any Greater Victoria community, and the tradeoff is even more dramatic price savings and access to raw coastal wilderness.

Metchosin is closer but the route funnels through the same Colwood corridor on the way in, so the time savings over Sooke are marginal for downtown commuters. Both communities attract buyers who value space, privacy, and nature over commute efficiency.

Tips for West Shore Commuters From Someone Who Has Done It

A few things I have learned from friends, clients, and my own drive that are worth knowing:

• Mondays and Fridays are lighter. Midweek traffic is the worst. School holidays and long weekends change the pattern completely.
• Check the traffic before you leave. The Highway 1 webcam at McKenzie is worth bookmarking. A 5-minute delay check can save you 20 minutes at the junction.
• The side route exists. Old Island Highway through View Royal can bypass the worst of the McKenzie backup on days when the highway is stopped. Locals know it, but it only helps if you are going west of Six Mile.
• Your departure time matters more than your neighbourhood. The difference between leaving at 7:15 and 7:40 is bigger than the difference between living in Langford versus Colwood.
• If you work remotely, the West Shore makes even more sense. A one-day-a-week commute changes the math completely. We have seen a surge in buyers asking about home office space and suite potential alongside the commute question.

The Bottom Line on the West Shore Commute

The Colwood Crawl is real, but it is not the whole story. The $95 million bus lane investment, the McKenzie interchange improvements, and the growing popularity of bike commuting on the Galloping Goose all point in the same direction: the commute is getting better, not worse, even as the West Shore grows.

For buyers weighing the tradeoff between a newer, larger home in Langford or Colwood versus a smaller, older property closer to the core, the commute question comes down to one thing: your schedule. If you control your hours, the West Shore is a no-brainer. If you are locked into 8-to-5 downtown, the extra windshield time is real, but the equity and space you get in return are equally real.

We help West Shore buyers find properties that match their commute reality, whether that means a quick-access spot near the highway, a home on the Galloping Goose trail for bike commuters, or a property with a legal suite that offsets the mortgage so the commute matters less. Our Langford neighbourhood guide covers the housing stock in detail, and our West Shore community pages break down each area block by block. When you are ready to talk realistic commute scenarios and home options, book a call with us.