S. C. H. S.

324467 – Highway 101

Dear Robin Merriott:

Thank you for your letter of February 24, 2024, written in support of Sechelt Mayor John Henderson’s request for safety improvements for vulnerable road users on Highway 101 in Sechelt. I am also responding to your letter of March 25, 2024, regarding line painting on this highway.

Safety for all road users on our transportation network is the ministry’s priority. You may be aware that the ministry has been working closely with District of Sechelt staff to finalize a new signalized intersection of Highway 101 at Shorncliffe Avenue. These improvements will provide another signalized crossing for pedestrians within the downtown Sechelt area, adding to the signalized or pedestrian-controlled crossing opportunities that currently exist on Highway 101 through Sechelt at Field Road, Brookman Park, Dolphin Street and Wharf Avenue, Cowrie Street, Inlet Avenue and Norwest Bay Road.

 I recently had the opportunity to meet with the District of Sechelt’s mayor and council and reiterate the ministry’s commitment to continuing to work with the District on important transportation issues. The ministry aims to assist the District’s active transportation project on Mason Road and plans to install a new pedestrian crossing on Highway 101 to better serve the residents of West Sechelt and provide improved access to Mason Beach.

 The ministry recognizes the importance of maintaining clear lines on our highways. Ministry staff refresh line paint on all our provincial highways on an annual basis. This spring and summer, crews will be working to repaint lane lines on highways throughout the region, including Highway 101 on the Sunshine Coast. Ministry staff are currently working with our pavement-marking contractor to plan and schedule this work. Ministry staff are also working with our maintenance contractor, Capilano Highway Services, to install recessed reflectors along a section of Highway 101 between Sechelt and Gibsons to increase line visibility.

Regarding the Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study, it is important to note that this study is not finished and ministry staff continue to work on it. As you may know, the ministry conducted extensive public engagement for the study in the summer of 2022. You can review the Engagement Summary Report on the ministry’s website. We anticipate that the final report on the study will be available later this spring, and we look forward to sharing the results.

Ministry staff were recently able to tour Highway 101 in the Gibsons area with local MLA Nicholas Simons. Following the tour, ministry planning and engineering staff and a ministry consultant met with the Town to discuss the scope of an Active Transportation Planning Study for Highway 101 from near Reed Road to Lower Road. Based on the Town’s feedback, the study will review traffic operations at select locations on the route and will include pedestrian crossing opportunities, intersections and traffic signal timing, pavement markings, safety performance and a potential reduced speed limit.

Meanwhile, the ministry is continuing to work hard across several fronts to improve safety for vulnerable road users across our transportation network. Last year, we passed amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act (Bill 23) to enable new minimum safe passing and following distances, as well as a new vulnerable road user law, to improve the safety of the active transportation environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users.

The MVA amendments are part of a Clean Transportation Action Plan we are developing to help encourage a shift from personal vehicle travel to more active and sustainable modes of travel. The plan will be released soon.

The ministry is also working closely with the shíshálh Nation to make active transportation improvements on East Porpoise Bay Road between Xenichen Avenue and Tsulich Drive. These improvements will complement the existing active transportation infrastructure completed by the District of Sechelt and will fill a gap in the network on East Porpoise Bay Road and Sechelt Inlet Road. The contract for this work was recently awarded and construction is expected to commence in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions about our planning work, please feel free to contact the ministry’s Executive Director of Engineering Services, Kenedee Ludwar. She can be reached at 236 468-1932 or at Kenedee.Ludwar@gov.bc.ca and would be pleased to help you. If you have questions or concerns about local roads, you can contact Operations Manager Michael Braun at 604 398-5677 or Michael.Braun@gov.bc.ca.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

Sincerely,

Rob Fleming

Minister