An amendment to the Town’s Good Neighbour Bylaw requires that homeowners remove puncturevine from walkways and dispose of it in thick garbage bags. (File photo)
By Vanessa Broadbent
Osoyoos Times
Have you had a bike tire popped by puncturevine? An amendment to a Town bylaw could cut down the chances of it happening again.
An addition to the Town’s Good Neighbour Bylaw approved at Council’s meeting on Monday requires that property owners remove puncture vine or longspine sandbur plants from sidewalks or roads adjacent to their property.
The bylaw now requires that the invasive plants are disposed of in a double thick garbage bag.
Areas infested with the plants can be covered with a weed barrier cloth and four inches of mulch or decorative rock to prevent spreading.
In a report to Council, Director of Operational Services Jim Dinwoodie said his department struggles every year to control the spread of the weeds.
“These invasive plant species are particularly aggressive in our area and are the frequent cause of many a popped bike tire along our walking and biking trails,” the report read.
The bylaw will possibly reduce trail maintenance costs if there is a reduction in the number of weed control passes the Operation Services department crews make in growing season, the report states.
The bylaw was first brought to Council in May and given third reading at Council’s November meeting.
Problem is a lot of the puncture vine is also growing in the regional district of rural Osoyoos mostly alongside the road next to orchards and vineyards. The seed pods are spread near and far on tractor trailer tires as farmers drive their farm vehicles half on the roadside from property to property , through the summer back-and-forth across town . Puncture vine pods fall off along all the roadsides and so there needs to be a lot more than just a simple bylaw.