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By Caden Fanshaw

Roads

No cheap way out of lackluster road markings

May 15, 2023 | 5:48 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Few citizens seem to be truly happy with how the current road markings work in BC’s Northern Capital. The performance of the paint has been below expectations ever since it was introduced back in 2012.

The type of paint had to be swapped when new federal environmental regulations were put in place just over a decade ago.

Prince George’s City Council recently heard the result of a report ordered by council which led to a lengthy discussion about how to proceed as fading lines lead to safety concerns and what some believe is an unreasonable cost to taxpayers.

Council was presented with a few different options, including higher-grade thermo-plastic paint or cold-plastic paint instead of the current mix.

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Unfortunately using one of the other types of paint requires a much larger investment, thermo-plastic is 12 times more expensive than the current solution, while cold plastic is up to 16 times more costly.

“I think asking the question, is it better to pay a little bit more for something that’s going to last a little longer or pay a little bit less for something we have to replace every year?” said Councillor Cori Ramsay. “That’s the debate, using a more expensive paint that lasts a little bit longer in high pedestrian traffic areas, such as crosswalks that receive a lot of use is something to look at.”

Current traffic control marking inventories required for the 2023 season include approximately 600 pedestrian crossings, 500 stop bars and 610 directional arrows. Add that with all linear solid white and yellow, single dashed white and yellow and solid double yellow markings totalling 460 kilometres. The 2023 budget for road marking is just over $471k.

Mayor Simon Yu said we may need to look to other northern cities for a solution as the current system just isn’t working out the way it was expected to.

Others such as Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek all struggle with the same problem that appears to have no easy fix.