From: Susie Washington-Smyth <susiewashingtonsmyth@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 29, 2016 at 9:25 AM
Subject: Re: Roads on Saturna
To: "Haley, Shawn TRAN:EX" <Shawn.Haley@gov.bc.ca>
Hi Shawn:
Again, thanks for your attention to our concerns. However, I do have two comments in
response. The road is excessively narrow along East Point Road by the water and over the
“missing link” to allow both a logging truck and a car to pass each other. Also the road is
sluffing off the right hand side of the road (heading toward the ferry) on the missing link and by
the top of the Gaines property where Mainroads has dumped more than 8” of asphalt more than
once to try and resolve the problem.
I do want to highlight that my intention with this email is not to nitpick, rather to make sure we
both are clear about the issues facing the island with respect to the probably impacts on the roads
from the logging trucks and on the driving public. No doubt we will continue this conversation.
Thanks again for working with us.
Susie
On Aug 29, 2016, at 9:07 AM, Haley, Shawn TRAN:EX <Shawn.Haley@gov.bc.ca> wrote:
Hi Susie,
Thank you for writing up this summary. There are a few amendments I would like to make:
Road Bed and Maintenance Impacts
• “It was agreed that logging trucks will be unable to make the right turn at Money Road off
East Point Road.” I will be talking to the hauling company to see if they can access Money from
East Point.
• “The existing roads are not built to Highway standards.” Ministry standards typically apply
to new construction. This is an old road that was adopted into the Ministry’s inventory.
• “there is continual sluffing in specific areas, especially from winter use”. I did not see any
significant cracking on the 5-6 year old asphalt that would indicate chronic sloughing. I did see
patches, but did not see anything active where I could investigate for an accurate cause.
• “Sunset and Waveny roads have not been upgraded and the existing chipseal is already
deteriorating and the road edges are crumbling”. Sunset and Waveny are both within our
maintenance class standards (class 6D).
• Mitigation measures include:
o “MOT to install a portable scale on site to determine load weight to ensure trucks are not
exceeding weight limits” I agreed to talk with CVSE to see if they are able to bring a portable
scale to the island for a day or two at a time.
o “possible requirements for lower gross weight for logging trucks due to winter conditions” I
said this is very unlikely. Usually load restrictions are used in climates where the roads are
impacted by permafrost.
o “Mainroads will be responsible for all repairs on the road”. Mainroad will be required to
repair/maintain roads within their contractual obligations (given each roads specific maintenance
classification).
Road Safety
• “As you noted, the roads to and from the reserve to the log dump are narrow, have blind
corners and go through populated areas” I wouldn’t say these are blind corners, nor are the roads
particularly narrow (keeping hauling in context).
• “Additional signage will be installed regarding speed, narrow corners and oncoming
traffic”. Additional signage will be installed. These signs will be our W-316 series, which warn
traffic of active logging.
• “Speed limits, specific to logging trucks may be required, especially by the school, and if so
they will be actively enforced”. The speed limits already in place will not change, and cannot
change (even temporarily) specifically for industrial traffic.
I will let you know both David T. and I can make a trip back out there to look at Harris Rd.
Hope you had a good weekend!
Thanks,
Shawn Haley, BSc.
Area Manager, Roads – South Vancouver Island
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Vancouver Island District – Saanich Office, 240-4460 Chatterton Way
Phone: (250)952-4491
Mobile: (250)360-7476
Fax: (250)952-4508
From: Susie Washington-Smyth [mailto:susiewashingtonsmyth@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2016 12:36 PM
To: Haley, Shawn TRAN:EX
Subject: Roads on Saturna
Hi Shawn
Thank you so much for making the time to meet with John Gaines and me this past Friday to
discuss community concerns about the potential impacts of logging trucks on the island’s road
system. We appreciated the opportunity to give you a better understanding of the existing road
bed problems, discuss the predicted impacts on the road bed and the safety concerns for the
residents and our visitors to the island. I am briefly outlining our understanding of these
discussions. If we have misunderstood any items we look forward to our continuing discussions
with you and others at MOT.
I believe we discussed the following:
Route
Logging trucks from the Reserve to the Log Dump at Lyall Harbour will travel from an egress to
be built along East Point Road, over the missing link, turning on Sunset Avenue and then on to
Wavenly and then turn into the road leading to the log dump. It was agreed that logging trucks
will be unable to make the right turn at Money Road off East Point Road.
Road Bed and Maintenance Impacts
The existing roads are not built to Highway standards. They have been built over the initial dirt
roads. For example, the road to East Point was built over the existing chipseal road which was
built without the usual underlay. As a result there is continual sluffing in specific areas,
especially from winter use. Sunset and Waveny roads have not been upgraded and the existing
chipseal is already deteriorating and the road edges are crumbling. It is noteworthy that each
winter the road connecting both sides of the island, the “missing link”, and along certain sections
of East Point Road adjacent to the ocean require yearly repairs because of existing conditions.
Any Additional wear will cause further deterioration to the road base all along the entire route.
The proposed timeframe to log is in the late fall and winter. This is the peak time for road
damage, specifically because of the high water table in certain areas along East Point Road,
sluffing of the unstable road bed on the missing link, and the potential for damage to all the
edges of the road because of the size of the logging trucks and the soft wet soils adjacent to and
underlying the road.
- Mitigation measures include:
-MOT to install a portable scale on site to determine load weight to ensure trucks are not
exceeding weight limits
-MOT to increase the ongoing road monitoring, including additional steps to measure
crack size and crumbling of road edges and possible requirements for lower gross weight
for logging trucks due to winter conditions
-MOT to require overhead brush cutting so trees along the road are not damaged and
driving sightlines are improved
-Commercial Vehicle Services (CVS) will be involved to monitor weight and will
conduct spot checks about driving and driving conditions
-If a road permit is required MOT will ask for a type of bond on parts of the road
-Mainroads will be responsible for all repairs on the road
Road Safety
There are four ferries to and from Saturna each day. Morning and late afternoon ferries are more
heavily used by island residents and visitors. Moreover, all island residents must use most of the
proposed logging route to get to and from the business centre and ferry dock. In addition, there is
traffic to and from the school is twice a day, morning and afternoon.
There are no alternative routes to and from these sites. As you noted, the roads to and from the
reserve to the log dump are narrow, have blind corners and go through populated areas. Thus,
the addition of 8 to 9 logging trucks a day is a primary concern for island residents. Road safety
is a priority for the island and solutions must address the requirements of those who live of at
East Point, those who live along the proposed logging route an especially for those who live by
the school and for the school children.
Mitigation measures that MOT has agreed to pursue include:
- The RCMP will be contacted and asked to have more of a presence on the island
specific to weight and speed enforcement of the logging trucks
-The use of a pilot car will be suggested as a safe way to guide the logging trucks to and
from the logging site to better ensure speed limits are followed and other drivers can
more easily get out of the way of oncoming logging trucks
-Additional signage will be installed regarding speed, narrow corners and oncoming
traffic
-Discussions with the proponent will occur to encourage them to work directly with the
community to factor in ferry times and when it is least disruptive to existing traffic to
move logs from the reserve to the log dump.
-Speed limits, specific to logging trucks may be required, especially by the school, and if
so they will be actively enforced.
-MOT to work with the community and proponent to educate islanders about the times
logging trucks will be on the road.
We did not discuss noise issues but limiting speed may help reduce the use of exhaust brakes,
especially in the populated areas.
Thanks again for meeting with us. We appreciate your working with us to assess what to expect
and what we can do to mitigate the effects of these logging trucks on our road. We look forward
to your ongoing help in these matters.
Susie
ps I know you intend to come to Saturna again in the near future to review what actions MOT
can take to improve the lower part of Harris Road. Please let me know when you are coming and
if you would like any further community input.