Twenty-one joined this ASK Salt Spring conversation with our transportation experts, Ministry of Transportation and Transit’s (MoTT) Area Roads Manager Owen Page and Emcon’s Operations Manager Andrew Gaetz and Road Area Superintendent Craig Jantzi. After our Land Acknowledgement and a chance for each of us to introduce ourselves, we began to learn about the roles and responsibilities of our guests.

We began with Andrew and Craig. Emcon, our roads maintenance contractor, is responsible for all of the provincial roads on Vancouver Island south from Crofton to Port Renfew, also including the Southern Gulf Islands and Salt Spring. Working closely with MoTT, their scope of responsibilities include emergency responses (largely snow and flood events) as well as road maintenance that spans from annual sweeping, brush cutting, mowing, ditching, and culvert replacement to pothole filling and smaller asphalt-replacement jobs. Unfortunately, some of their funding is also used to address vandalism to roads and signs as well as junk dumped along rights of way. 

Owen’s MoTT area of responsibility includes all of the provincial roads on Saturna and Salt Spring Islands as well as the entire CRD area on Vancouver Island. While big projects, like Ganges Hill, are not within his area of responsibility, he is also an information source for these initiatives. He has responsibility for smaller road projects, crosswalks, signage, identification of road painting priorities, and working closely with Emcon to identify safety concerns and implement road improvements. 

We learned that MoTT projects must adhere to design standards (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/engineering-standards-guidelines), a set of documents that provide the requirements for all of our road work. We were a bit surprised to learn that even a requested sign must be one that is included in the BC inventory of signs (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/engineering-standards-guidelines/traffic-engineering-safety/traffic-signs-markings). Beyond adhering to these design standards, much in Owen’s scope of responsibility such as signs, crosswalks, and requests for speed limit changes, also requires a study by the MoTT Engineering Department. 

The complexity of achieving positive change was well illustrated by a participant’s emotional pleas to lower speed limits to 30 km from Seaview to Country Grocer. This may seem pretty simple – “How hard can it be to put up a few more speed limit signs? ” Actually, pretty complicated. . . .

1. First, the lowest speed limit on MoTT roads is 50km/h. The only provincially-recognized exceptions to this are elementary schools and playgrounds. The fact that we got 30 km/h on our major Ganges street was an unexpected exception, due largely to community agitation and the tenacity of former MLA Adam Olsen. 
2. Owen has proposed expanding this 30km/h speed limit throughout Ganges and has even proposed extending it to Country Grocer. His recommendation is somewhere in a long queue of requests to the Engineering Department comprised of hardworking, but overwhelmed, engineers with a plethora of requests from all over the province. 
3. Once it has the attention of Engineering, Owen also has a variety of tasks, such as vehicle counts, that must also be accomplished before it is approved. A longstanding request for a 30 km/h speed limit on North End Road near the beach at St. Mary Lake has finally progressed to point where Owen will be authorized to do the on-site studies required. A very long process, it is hoped that the portion of North End near the beach will soon sport 30km/h signs. . . . 

“Why do we see lowered speed limits everywhere else?” You got it. . . our roads are provincially-owned, managed, and financed. Municipalities can do what they want concerning speed limits, signs, crosswalks, and traffic calming installations. 

Not satisfied with the explanation of how difficult it is to lower speed limits, a participant is determined to get Senior Zones with 30km/h speed limits in areas of senior housing. While a good idea, it was clear that this would require provincial legislation to accomplish. It was suggested that she come to ASK Salt Spring this Friday, June 5, 12:30-2:30 (Note later time slot!) when MLA Botterell is our guest to strategize crafting the legislation needed to create Senior Zones. 

Several participants lauded the benefits of traffic circles, noting that modern designs like those utilized in Europe require a far smaller footprint as well as less expensive installation. Owen agreed that they are promising but also noted that BC-approved traffic circles remain large and expensive. Speed humps and raised crosswalks are not allowed by BC design standards. Although frustrating, there are many safety improvements that are included in BC design standards like flashing crosswalk lights, refuges, safety signage and stop signs. 

While restrictive BC standards may feel like unfair impositions, a participant reminded us that the province has spent millions and millions of dollars in the past few years on Salt Spring road projects, including Ganges Hill, Isabella Point, Blackburn/Cusheon Lake Bridge, and the cave-in at Vesuvius Bay Road near Tripp Road. 

Speaking of Ganges Hill. . . Cyclists were deeply concerned about the hazardous drainage grates. Owen had flagged the danger of the grate drop-off early in the project. Even though MoTT signed off on the project, Owen was eventually able to convince those in charge of the project that the drop-off around the grates was out of spec and constituted a “deficiency of work.” The contractor has been informed of this deficiency and the slope of these grates will be changed to be gradual rather than its current sharp drop-off. As the contractor has just been informed, Owen does not know when the work will be done, but he is confident that this hazard will be addressed. (Thanks, Owen!) 

Andrew and Owen were asked about the closure of Broadwell and lane closure on Sunset. Several folks from Channel Ridge Road participated in this ASK Salt Spring gathering, concerned about the damage to their road by the increased traffic. They asked that, as Emcon was identifying small asphalt projects this summer, Channel Ridge be considered. Concerns were raised about an emergency – like a fire. How would emergency vehicles get north of Broadwell quickly? Andrew reassured them that he has his phone with him 24/7 and that his crews could be there to move the barriers in minutes were an emergency to require their temporary removal. 

Many, of course, wanted to know when the project would begin. We learned that the needed new culverts had been sized to engineering standards and that Andrew was in conversation with the contractors. As these culverts convey the waters of Duck Creek, a known fish bearing watercourse, works in and around the creek are subject to environmental regulations. This means that all work must mitigate impacts to fish habitat and spawning and can only be completed during the summer months when stream flows are low. It is anticipated that survey work will begin on Broadwell in the next few weeks, with Sunset to follow soon after. Expectation is that Broadwell will be open this summer with the Sunset lane soon after. . . by September at the latest.   

A participant asked about the delayed Blackburn culvert. We learn from Andrew that this project had been delayed due to engineering considerations. The culvert is currently being built and should in place by this September. 

A participantexpressed her concern about dangerous Ganges crosswalks. There was good news here: A long-hoped for study of our village crosswalks has just been completed, requested by the Local Community Commission and funded by ICBC. Presented to the LCC this spring, MoTT is currently reviewing recommendations for additional crosswalks, flashing lights on many of them, and even a pedestrian refuge suggested at one location. Once MoTT Engineers have determined which of the recommendations they can be approve, CRD staff will begin negotiations with ICBC to determine if ICBC can help fund these approved crosswalk enhancements. 

Despite this good crosswalk news, other road frustrations were expressed by participants. Most often cited seemed to be the congested intersections at: 

• Upper and Lower Ganges Roads, 
• Atkins and Lower Ganges Roads,
• Long Harbour and Upper Ganges Roads, 

Some suggested that 4-way stop signs at these locations could be considered. 

A longtime Island Pathways Board Member spoke of a 2020 pilot bike lane project completed by Island Pathways volunteers from the Portlock parking lot to Central. She spoke with glee of digging up the encroaching sod to reveal a fair amount of hidden asphalt from this long-forgotten bike lane. She asked for both a bit more asphalt where it had cracked away and line painting. Owen and Andrew promised to visit the site and do their best to rejuvenate this pilot bike lane project. Called the Bicycle Bob Memorial Bile Lane, it will be the site of an Island Pathways cycling event this Thursday, June 4. And, the Bicycle Bob sign that was knocked down and stored is currently being renovated and reinstalled. 

There was a suggestion at our last ASK Salt Spring gathering on emergency preparedness that BC Hydro and MoTT could help reduce our fire danger immensely by clearing highly-flammable invasives off their property (https://asksaltspring.com/2026/05/22/emergency-preparedness-101-made-fun/). When Andrew was asked about invasives on our rights of way, we learned that Emcon has a brush-removal program, removing brush from between 100-150 kilometers every year. Their emphasis is upon our major roads and intended more for drainage and visibility than fire prevention. It was noted, however, that we Salt Springers love our hedgerows. While we may like to see gorse and broom mowed down, when the other foliage is mowed, Andrew is sure to get laments. 

As our time together was drawing to a close, Owen and Andrew were asked about their priorities for this year. Andrew began by listing the following projects:

• This year’s mowing and brushing of vegetation is almost complete. 
• Emcon is in the middle of spraying our roads with calcium chloride to keep down the dust. (Wash your car – it is salt-based.) 
• This year’s supply of asphalt is expected to arrive in a few weeks. Unlike past years when much of it is used for one project, most recently Cushion Lake and Atkins Roads, this year Andrew has decided to focus on a number of smaller road spans most in need of patching. 
• Culvert supplies for this year are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. When possible, these replacement culverts are upsized, but, in some instances circumstances require replacement with the same size culvert. 
• Ditching work will also continue throughout the summer. 

Owen’s focus will be upon:

• Working with ICBC and CRD to implement some of the recommended Ganges crosswalk improvements,
• Completing the Isabella Road work resulting from the extensive damage during the 2021 flood,
• Completing the work for several other big culvert projects including Beddis, Fulford-Ganges/Isabella Point, and Seaview/ Fulford-Ganges Roads, our near-famous sinkhole. 

Our time together for this week over, amid applause for a great conversation and promising to come back before the snow season, Andrew, Greg, and Owen left to be interviewed by CHiR.fm‘s Damian for ASK Salt Spring Answered (https://open.spotify.com/show/14aIItcouBw3unc5ZtgPDL). We loved that they listened, took lots of notes for areas to be addressed, were honest enough to tell us when our request was simply out of their wheelhouse, and, although Salt Spring is only a very small portion of their responsibility, they continue to work tirelessly to address our concerns. (Thanks, Owen, Andrew, and Craig!)  

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. Owen, Andrew, and Craig have had an opportunity to edit it.