The provincial Ministry of Transportation is about to embark on a program to upgrade and improve road signage on highways across British Columbia and Osoyoos will be one of the first beneficiaries of the program because it’s located so close to the American border.
Ross McLean, manager of the provincial sign program with the ministry, and Jeff Wiseman, district operations manager, made a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council Monday detailing the tentative plans to overhaul the “outdated” road signage program across the province and replace old signs with impressive new signs that better promote services and accommodations in towns and cities in B.C.
The majority of the provincial road signs being used today were erected back in the late 1980s and ministry leaders have decided to implement a new program that will reduce the number of signs, but improve their look and the information presented to travellers, said Wiseman.
“They were installed in the late 1980s so they have been around for more than a couple of decades now and it’s time they were revamped,” he said.
The government now realizes it has allowed too many road signs to be erected over the past three decades and some of them have so much information on them, the majority of drivers can’t read them while travelling the speed limit, said McLean.
By looking at 28 jurisdictions across North America – including new programs in Alberta and Ontario – the provincial government is ready to embark on a program to replace thousands of provincial road signs with new signs that will be brighter and more effective in giving drivers information they need, he said.
Municipal leaders and administration with marketing organizations like Destination Osoyoos were also contacted in coming up with the plan to replace provincial signs, he said.
“At the end of the day what everyone wanted was to be treated fairly and equally,” said McLean.
The new sign program will offer different programs for cities over 25,000 in population and for those smaller communities under 25,000, he said.
The program will place a large focus on signage that uses common “internationally recognized symbols” to indicate things like gas, food, accommodation, camping facilities, recreational facilities like golf course, etc., said McLean.
“What we want to do is work with cities and municipalities on promoting what works best for your town,” he said.
Using Osoyoos as an example, McLean said a large sign would be erected at major entrance points coming into town that would promote four major tourist attractions, to be decided by members of council. The sign would also indicate the fact there is gas, food and lodging services available, he said.
Mayor Stu Wells said deciding which major tourist attractions to promote on signage could cause some controversy in a tourist town like Osoyoos.
Too much provincial road signage in the past has been erected to promote local businesses, while the new focus will be to look at promoting the community at large and attract visitors who can then determine what sights they want to see once they arrive, said McLean.
“All businesses want to be treated fairly,” he said. “What you don’t want to do is give one group of businesses some signage while ignoring another group.”
Wells said not only are there too many provincial road signs in this region, but also far too many private signs that clutter up the side of the highway for large stretches of the South Okanagan.
Wiseman said it is up to municipal and regional councils to enact bylaws that prohibit such signage and enforce the bylaws.
“We’re working with the RDOS (Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen) to see what we can do,” said Wiseman. “There is nothing I would like more than to clear these right of ways and get a lot of those signs down. The volume of signs in this area is becoming a safety issue.”
Wells said he’s confident erecting new road signs will enhance the visitor experience for those travelling to Osoyoos and the South Okanagan and he’s looking forward to completion of this initiative.