Haida Gwaii roads have residents concerned

The residents of the Queen Charlotte Islands have issued a call for help with their roads, concerned that the deteriorating condition of the Island roadways is leaving the population at risk.

The Daily News featured the call for help as its front page story in Tuesday’s paper.

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DRIVERS FEAR DANGER LURKING AROUND NEXT BEND IN ROAD
Condition of roads on Haida Gwaii has residents calling for urgent repairs
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Pages one and two

Residents of the Queen Charlotte Islands say they are driving blind with few centre lines and no side lines on the black highways on the Islands this winter.

Christine MacKenzie, a director with the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District, brought forward the concerns at a public meeting organized by the Ministry of Transportation last week.
"Haida Gwaii does have lot of road issues ... no lines painted on their roads in the wintertime and no street lights when it's raining, snowing - those are issues," said MacKenzie.

The ministry, though its contractor, did some patch-paving along the highway between Port Clements and Massett this fall and, for one night, there were no lines at all along the unlit roadway. However, since then, the ministry said it has added roadway tape to mark the centre line.

“We tried to get some paint before winter set in but then the weather got bad,” said Dennis Reindl, operations manager for O’Brien Road and Bridge Maintenance, contractor for the Queen Charlotte Islands.

“Temporary line paving is an accepted practice for the situation.”

Randy Penner, district operations manger for the Ministry of Highways, said the sole paving contractor on the islands was unable to get to the road paving until late in the season.

“By the time they got to the work Dennis wanted them to do, it was very late in the season,” said Penner. “It was a very wet fall and so then there was an issue with getting the permanent line markings over there. We do recognize there’s an issue there and we have made it a high priority for early next season.”

The permanent line markings are done on the Queen Charlotte Islands on a two-year cycle. Line markings in B. C. are contracted out to three contractors, with an Alberta-based contractor responsible for the Northern portion of the province.

Despite assurances that more line marking tape was being added, some members of the public questioned how well the tape would hold up when the ploughs are moving over it.

Reindl said it is unlikely the ploughs will have to remove the tape.

“I know there are places they have taped before where we have painted over. If you where to look it’s been there for a couple of years,” Reindl said.

MacKenzie added that residents would also like to see lines marking the edge or the road, or posts with reflectors.

“I’ve driven over there. It’s black. You don’t’ know how far over you can go,” said MacKenzie.

“They’ve got a winter to get through over there. If there’s a higher chance for more accidents, will they be compensated?”

Erika Rolston, on behalf of North Coast MLA Gary Coons, also presented letters on behalf residents of the Islands.

Ministry staff responded by saying they are working with partners, such as ICBC, to find funding for those types of markers.