Another paving project is set to begin on Ucluelet’s Peninsula Road, though one municipal councillor thinks it will lead to “chaos” and another called it “a waste of money.”
Back in April, the district approved a $2.4-million funding agreement with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to repave prioritized sections of Peninsula Road, which falls under provincial jurisdiction as the highway leading in, out and through town.
The agreement mandated that the money could only be spent on Peninsula Road and had to be spent in full by the end of 2024.
During their Sept. 3 regular meeting, council heard a presentation from director of engineering James MacIntosh who explained paving was completed from Seaplane Base Road to Bay Street and then extended towards Forbes Road in July.
With those two sections complete, there’s still an unexpected $471,000 of the ministry’s money left to spend, so district staff recommended continuing onto a roughly 300-metre stretch of Peninsula from Bay Street to Main Street.
“It’s now reprioritized because we have the available funds to complete the project, we must spend all the capital this year and the condition of the asphalt is very deteriorated,” MacIntosh said.
The plan includes adding a painted pedestrian path to the ocean side of Peninsula Road, which currently has no sidewalk.
“What occurs is pedestrians have to navigate that and sometimes walk into the travel lane and compete with vehicles as they’re moving along Peninsula Road,” MacIntosh said. “It’s worth noting that adding a pedestrian sidewalk on this side of Peninsula Road has been designed about six times in the past 10 years by district staff and it’s always been unfunded.”
He later clarified that the painted pathway could be replaced with a raised, concrete sidewalk when the district has enough money to pay for one.
“The reason we’re proposing painting it in is because we don’t have the funds to build that concrete sidewalk. Painting it in is, essentially, a safe place marker for now for pedestrians to have a safe place to travel,” he said.
He said lines would also be added to formalize the street parking with some spots set to be removed, including ones in front of Ukee Scoops and Ocean Pet Supplies where vehicles are backing out to get back on the road.
“They’re nosing in and backing out, which is a no-no in modern day transportation planning, so that has to go,” MacIntosh said.
He said work could get underway as early as Sept. 23 and is expected to take roughly three weeks to complete.
“During this work, we would anticipate and expect that all businesses remain open. Of course, with that said, there is intermittent disruptions as machinery moves up and down the highway and blocks access periodically,” he said, adding a communications plan would be hashed out, including handouts for area businesses.
He added the district is also working with the ministry on a maintenance management plan expected to be produced in early 2025.
“That will be a formal document that identifies who’s responsible for taking care of what and for how long and at what cost. That’s a critical document that hasn’t been created yet and it’s part of the puzzle that’s led to why the highway has become so deteriorated,” he said. “Once we have that in place, we’ll understand for the next 30 years how to take care of this really important asset for the community.”
He said the district is also in discussion with the province on plans to improve the intersection at Peninsula Road and Main Street that often vexes local and visiting drivers.
“That’s, in our opinion, one of the most critical safety concerns on the whole highway so we have to get to that in short order in the years ahead,” he said.
Coun. Mark Maftei expressed vehement opposition to the painted pedestrian pathway, suggesting it would put people in more danger than they’re currently in.
“Pedestrians and people who understand what those lines mean are going to feel safe and emboldened to walk there and people who don’t know what those lines mean, or aren’t familiar or aren’t paying attention are going to assume that that’s part of the road,” he said.
“The current situation right now is far from ideal, but it’s one where I think most pedestrians are really careful about walking on the road because they understand the risk that they’re facing. Having a painted line versus an actual concrete sidewalk strikes me as something that would actually be far likelier to increase the risk to those pedestrians because if someone doesn’t understand what those lines mean, they’re going to get run over.”
Coun. Ian Kennington asked if there are utilities under the road that need to be addressed that won’t be addressed during the paving, meaning the road would need to be torn up in the future.
“It doesn’t strike me as looking like it’s really at the end of its serviceable life. When you look at all the other roads in town it’s actually in pretty decent shape,” he said.
MacIntosh confirmed “there are utilities that are aged and undersized in this section of the road” so additional work would need to be done.
Kennington added that one of his concerns since the beginning of the Peninsula paving project has been the narrowing of the roadway and pushing street parking spots closer to traffic and he agreed with Maftei’s concerns around the safety of the pedestrian walkway.
“I can’t see how a driver would be able to open their door and get out of their car safely with this configuration in the front of Thay Tea and The Snack Shack. While I applaud the efforts to make a pedestrian passageway, I really am not a fan of narrowing the road there and putting people at risk getting out of their vehicles … I think we’re trying to put 10 lbs. of manure in a 5 lbs. bag here,” he said.
MacIntosh said the configuration with the travel lane, parking lane and pedestrian lane is a “provincial standard” and added the parking would be between the driving lane and the walkway, separating pedestrians from traffic.
He said the same configuration and dimensions exist in front of Image West and Westcoast Connect, after the earlier summer paving phase.
Kennington argued that the road is “too tight” in those areas and he believes people parking in front of The Snack Shack and Thay Tea would face dangers getting in and out of their cars if the proposed project went ahead.
“I can’t see how you can get out of a vehicle there without stepping into the middle of the road. Do what you want, but I’m voicing my opposition to this layout and I have since the beginning. I don’t think it’s going to work. I think it’s going to upset a lot of people and I don’t like it,” he said.
Mayor Marilyn McEwen expressed support for the painted walkway.
“I think a painted sidewalk is better than a not painted sidewalk, personally,” she said. “It’s going to give pedestrians a place to walk, rather than weaving in and around parked cars, which is what they’re doing right now.”
Maftei said he “vehemently disagreed” and that the risk facing pedestrians is from vehicles.
“What these painted sidewalks do is they create this illusion of safety,” he said. “It’s going to lead to accidents by creating this discrepancy between what feels like it’s safe, but actually isn’t…I think this is a big problem.”
McEwen noted that parked cars would be in between pedestrians and traffic, but Maftei countered there are gaps in the parking that would put them right next to moving traffic.
Kennington added that situations could arise in rough weather conditions where the lines might not be visible.
“What happens on the one day a year we get snow, or when it’s dark and it’s raining? You can’t see those lines,” he said.
He added that without a curb between the parking lane and the pedestrian lane, people will be unsure how far over to park.
“It will be chaos,” he said.
Coun. Jennifer Hoar said she walks in the area frequently and the current situation feels very unsafe both as a pedestrian and in her vehicle trying to park.
“People don’t know where to walk,” she said. “I think the uncertainty right now is dangerous. I’d love to see a concrete sidewalk all the way up and down, but we don’t have the money for that.”
She supported the painted pedestrian walkway and said it could decrease confusion in the area.
“I think it’s a safer idea,” she said.
McEwen agreed.
Maftei suggested holding off on the project and waiting until a proper sidewalk could be installed.
“Let’s wait until we have the money and then let’s do the job properly. Just because it’s MOTI’s money, doesn’t mean it’s not a waste of money,” he said. “We’re inconveniencing business to do a (expletive deleted) job that we’re going to have to tear up again in the near future anyway. That seems like a waste of time, money and resources with a real impact on the community.”
MacIntosh said the province has identified the roadway as at the end of its life and suggested the infrastructure under the road will likely last another 5-15 years and is not underneath the painted pedestrian pathway.
He added that painting paths is cited in BC’s Active Transportation Design Guide as a best practice.
Kennington noted that some businesses would lose parking spots.
“There will be backlash and it doesn’t appear as though there’s been any consideration to relocation of those parking spaces,” he said. “If we just want to repave it, that’s fine, but it’s all these lines painted all over the place that I think are a mistake and I wouldn’t support that…I think it’s just going to create undue hardship on businesses once and then again when it needs to be done again.”
McEwen moved to go ahead with staff’s recommendation and was joined in support by Hoar and Coun. Shawn Anderson, outnumbering Maftei and Kennington’s votes in opposition.
“I thought this would be a five-minute discussion,” McEwen quipped after the roughly one-hour discourse.
