Road Maintenance

A recent study by Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) concluded that the average city spent about 1 percent of its infrastructure budget on sidewalks, even though walking accounted for 11 percent of residents’ trips every day and pedestrian fatalities constituted 17 percent of all traffic deaths. Walking (including wheelchair, scooter and handcart use) is the universal travel mode. Improving walking conditions can provide many benefits

"The Ministry builds and maintains safe and resilient roadways and infrastructure, plans integrated transportation hubs and networks, provides affordable, efficient and accessible transportation options for all people in British Columbia, partners with Crown corporations and other entities to deliver transportation services, develops and implements transportation policies, and administers many related acts, regulations and federal-provincial funding programs."

Have you ever wondered what the road maintenance standards for B.C. are? How long do we have to wait for snow removal in the winter? How quickly does a pothole need to be repaired? Who is responsible for maintenance and repairs? Some of the answers may surprise you.

TranBC is introducing Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFAD) to B.C. Drivers. Apparently those drivers pay more attention to the AFAD than they do to a human traffic controller! In addition, if an AFAD is "killed" in a collision, it is simply replaced.

No one likes to spend significant effort to clean the snow off of their driveway only to have the plow come by and fill in the highway end of it all over again. Most of us grumble and get to work, but an Errington man decided to stand in the way and prevent the grader from doing this to his driveway. In what almost became more ways than one, he didn't have a leg to stand on.

Question: When I drive into a construction zone I see the sign about double the fine, but have been told that the fine incurred is actually excessive speed if the speed is too high. Is there an actual regulation about double the fine or is this sign just a deterrent?

One of the drawbacks of living on Vancouver Island is having to drive at night in the rain. Where there is no street lighting present I find it like driving into a wet sack of coal. When the road markings are worn I must slow down in order to be safe because it is difficult to maintain proper lane position.

I was driving home after shift last week listening to the radio and enjoying the sunshine. The traffic report was being broadcast and in it was a cell phone call from a woman who had been stopped in the lineup for the highway construction on Highway 4 between Port Alberni and Parksville. She wondered if anyone knew what was going on.

Knowing how to behave around snow removal equipment when you encounter it on the highway is important for both your safety and that of the equipment operator. These trucks must operate at optimum speeds to remove snow, drop sand and salt or apply brine. A bit of patience is required if this optimum is not what you consider appropriate for you.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has released the 2020 version of the Traffic Management Manual for Work on Roadways. This is essentially an 815 page textbook outlining fundamental principles and guidelines for traffic management and traffic control in work zones. The goal is to ensure the protection of workers and the safe and efficient movement of road users through the work zone.