Outraged by the state of the West Coast’s roads over the winter, Ucluelet mayor Mayco Noël is voicing his frustration over what he sees as a failure to keep motorists safe.
Noël told the Westerly News he began raising concerns about the conditions of the roads, specifically regarding ice, to B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in November, but has seen little improvement.
“There was that first little freeze in our area and I was a little bit horrified with some of the conditions back then,” he said.
He added he has heard numerous concerns from Ucluelet residents and he himself was terrified during a slippery drive over Sutton Pass two weeks ago.
“I was driving out of town at 11 a.m. and I’m going sideways and there was no need for those kind of conditions,” he said. “It was hazardous. That’s what broke the back for me and I do feel that I can be quite open and criticize because I have been driving that road for literally over 30 years and the level of service and the conditions of the road; there isn’t anybody in the community that would say they’re satisfied with what’s going on right now…Everyone expects black ice, but they don’t expect 40-50 kilometres of it.”
He clarified that his concerns were not brought on by the West Coast’s rare snowfall earlier this month, but by the amount of ice that’s been accumulating on the roads over the winter months.
“There’s nobody on the Coast that’s going to complain because you had to wait four hours for the snow plow,” he said. “That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about icy conditions that are coming up because of moisture and the West Coast climate. Yes, you experience some black ice from time to time, but it’s usually limited to very small sections of the highway…When you’re going down a highway for 40 kilometres and it’s like a skating rink, I start to question whether the people that are making the decisions are actually trying to protect the public.”
He added that he has not spoken directly with Mainroad Contracting, the company responsible for maintaining the West Coast’s highways, but said he will continue lobbying the ministry for improvement.
“I’m not throwing anybody under a bus here. I’m just pointing out the simple fact that people are going off the road, the hazards are going on and the conditions don’t seem to be getting dealt with,” he said.
The Westerly News reached out to Mainroad for comment, but had not heard back by presstime.
Tofino mayor Josie Osborne told the Westerly she has spoken with the company to gain a better understanding of the steps Mainroad is taking to mitigate winter’s road conditions.
“There’s no doubt that it has been a challenging winter. I cannot recall seeing so many snowfalls and freeze/thaw events in the month of February, and I have personally experienced some icy and snowy drives,” Osborne said.
“While I am no road maintenance expert, I’ll venture that the learning curve of a new contract combined with a very difficult February has led to challenging conditions altogether, and I’m reminded that this is a three-way deal: road maintenance, weather conditions, and driving habits—speed and tires—are all factors that contribute to safety and risk. The drivers and crews certainly have been working hard, and let’s hope the worst of the winter weather is over now.”
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