Colleymount Road users are being asked to identify and prioritize what they feel needs to change to improve conditions of the road.
According to residents, Colleymount Road - which extends from Francois Lake’s ferry landing to km 54 – has had a significant increase of commercial and non-commercial traffic and presents safety issues such as narrow, blind corners and sloughing on both road portions and embankments.
The B.C. ministry of transportation and infrastructure wants residents to document problem areas along Colleymount Road and share this information with the ministry. This would help ministry officials better assess the situation and decide on the need to address priority spots.
The ministry-led group, called the ‘Colleymount Road user group,’ met in Burns Lake on Oct. 23, 2015, at the Burns Lake and District Chamber of Commerce.
Comprised of local residents, industry, local government and other key stakeholders, the ministry-led group was formed earlier this year despite the existence of another group which was created by local residents - the Colleymount Road working group.
Rita Lavoie, member of the residents-led group, was initially not pleased when the ministry-led group was created. She now says the two groups have been working well together.
“I am feeling quite pleased with the interchange between our Colleymount Road working group and the ministry created user group,” she said.
Although Lavoie said there was “an honest and considerate exchange of ideas” during the meeting, when it comes to actual implementation of projects Lavoie is not so optimistic. She said substantial changes to Colleymount Road might still be “a long way into the future.”
Representing the ministry of transportation and infrastructure in the meeting was Carl Lutz, Bulkley-Stikine District Manager. When asked what improvements residents could expect to see on Colleymount Road, Lutz said the ministry of transportation still has “no specific plan,” adding that the ministry would first like to hear from residents and loggers about their specific issues with the road.
Eileen Benedict, Director of Electoral Area E for the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, had a more positive impression of the meeting, saying it provided a “starting point” to address some of the changes that need to be made to make Colleymount Road safer.
“Overall I felt this was a very positive meeting and look forward to discussions with the residence on what they feel are the priority changes that need to be made,” she said.
Eileen added that during the meeting it was acknowledged that the forest resources are an integral part of the local economy and the residence of the area understand the importance of this industry.
Lakes District Maintenance (LDM) representatives provided an update on the work they’ve been doing on Colleymount Road and what their plans are for the winter.
Steve Gailing, LDM’s Operations Manager, said one grader will be designated specifically for the Hwy. 35/Colleymount corridor during winter operations. Lakes District Maintenance has two graders for the Burns Lake foreman area - which includes Hwy. 16 east from Priestly Hill to Meanwhile Road, Hwy 35, and all side roads within this geographical area.
Steven Burkholder, General Manager at Tahtsa Group, complimented the work LDM has been doing on Colleymount Road.
“Lakes District Maintenance has done a good job and we appreciate it; the brushing has helped the most for our guys."
Burkholder said Tahtsa crews try to avoid using Colleymount Road “as much as they can to help residents.”
Lavoie said residents have been concerned about significant safety issues exacerbated by large logging trucks, industrial traffic and tourist vehicles.
“I think there is also a lack of appreciation [by the ministry] of the amount of traffic on the road, the heavy logging trucks, the large vacation vehicles and the impact this has on a seal coated and gravelled road,” she said. “It is not the kind of road that can realistically accommodate the heavy traffic.”
The residents-led Colleymount Road working group recently gathered 929 signatures for a petition to improve conditions of Colleymount Road. The petition was sent to Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, along with photos of the road and the results of a road count conducted by the group.
During the 12-hour road count, 281 vehicles travelled on Colleymount Road carrying 371 individuals.
“Looking at these numbers, over a five-day period from Monday to Friday, there would be 1405 vehicles transporting 1855 individuals,” explained Lavoie.
The traffic count was conducted at the junction of Hwy. 35 and Colleymount Road from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sept. 3; and from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2015.
This traffic count did not include logging trucks. A traffic count conducted earlier by the group suggested that there could be up to 65 logging trucks per day travelling on the road.
The residents-led group will be holding a community meeting at the Trout Creek Hall on Nov. 4, 2015, at 7 p.m. During the meeting, residents will be asked to help document problems they see on the road to assist the ministry-led Colleymount Road user group.