The city does paint the lines on the roads every year. However, by this time of year, or even the fall, the paint is usually so worn it’s hard to determine where the lines are.
The lines wear off quickly in some areas due to high traffic volume and the type of paint the city must use to meet federal environmental guidelines.
“Since the introduction of restrictive regulations by Environment Canada, the City of Prince George has experienced a decrease in paint performance,” writes Blake McIntosh, Director of Civic Operations, in a report going to council Monday. “In high traffic areas such as arterial
roadways, the roadway paint markings placed at the beginning of the season are no longer visible in the following season.”
In 2009, Environment Canada began limiting the use of roadway marking paint having volatile organic compounds (VOC) measuring greater than 450 grams/litre, he said. As of 2012, Environment Canada introduced seasonal restrictions that only allow roadway marking paint to have a volatile organic compound (VOC) content of 150 grams/litre or less between the period of May 1 to October 15. These are annual recurring restrictions and they apply to the city.
Prior to 2009, Ccty staff had experienced better life expectancy of roadway markings with the approved use of paint products containing higher VOC concentrations, he added. Being a winter city, the new paint standard does not withstand snowplow blades and scouring as vehicle tires roll over winter traction material.
For 2023, the operational budget for traffic markings is $471,976.00. Both road markings and
pedestrian markings are applied by a contractor. The budget allows for one application of paint for all municipal markings. There are other longer wearing products on the market such as inlaid thermoplastic and methacrylate resin but they are cost prohibitive and would be subject to winter maintenance activities that can be aggressive at times and would likely impact their longevity, McIntosh said.
Thermoplastic long lines are 12 times more expensive than approved paint. Cold plastic methacrylate resin long lines are 16 times more costly than approved paint. Painting the lines twice has been tried with little success, he said.
McIntosh’s recommendation is that staff continue to work with contractors and intergovernmental agencies for current information on ways to extend traffic marking service life.