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One of the ways the City works to enhance mobility for people in Colwood is through the planning and maintenance of roads, boulevards, sidewalks, street lighting and traffic signal systems.
If you come across a road safety issue, sidewalk hazard, traffic signal problem, please let us know. Report an issue with roads.
Public Works staff manage over 120 lane kilometers of paved roadways through regular inspection and maintenance.
Approximately 26% of paved surface area is arterial, 35% is collector and 39% local. Each year, paving of roadway is undertaken throughout the City to repair pavement failures and rectify seasonal pothole issues.
Large-scale paving is managed through Public Works as well as long-line painting and street sweeping, including storm debris cleanup.
Road shouldering is performed along arterial, collector and local roads as needed for safety and functionality.
Where sidewalks are in place, inspection and maintenance of this infrastructure is also performed.
In addition, Colwood employees are responsible for the road-repair of third-party utility installations and the construction of water controls and extruded curbs.
While snow and ice removal affects all service areas of Public Works, road clearing often represents the majority of work during a winter event: streets are cleared in a priority sequence that focuses on arterials, bus routes, school zones and collectors first with all other roads visited in a timely manner as permitted by the severity of the weather.
Potholes
Potholes are created when sub-surface water from rain and snow weakens the pavement, and heavy vehicle traffic causes it to crack. The City strives to repair potholes in a timely way. Colwood has a significant network of streets to maintain and a fixed number of crews and equipment to respond to requests for pothole repair. Report an issue with roads.
Please note that municipalities are not typically liable for damage caused to vehicles by potholes or road hazards unless legal liability is either evident or established. If your vehicle sustains damage, please contact the City at 250-478-5999 to provide the location of the pothole and record the date, time, and location of the incident. Take pictures of the damage and contact your vehicle collision insurer for repairs.
Line Painting and Road Markings
As of 2020, road marking of crosswalks, intersections, directional arrows and stop-bars is performed by Colwood staff.
Line painting is split into two tasks: long lines (center lines and fog lines); and curbs and symbols (crosswalks and stop bars). Annual painting of long lines on Colwood roadways generally takes place in June after winter weather and spring rains, followed by curbs and crosswalks in September as students go back to school. Timing is largely dependant upon the availability of the contractor who travels throughout many municipalities on the mainland and Vancouver Island to complete this work.
Maintaining the visibility of these lines is important for the safety of everyone in our community. We appreciate your patience while line painting is in process.
Road markings in Colwood conform to the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Manual of Standard Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings.
Road Resurfacing
The City determines which streets are due to be resurfaced each year based on pavement conditions, pavement age and traffic volumes as well as other factors such as transit and bicycle routes, utility clearances and available budget.
- During road resurfacing, traffic delays can be expected, but single lane alternating traffic will be maintained at all times.
- Sign boards will be posted on major roads to advise commuters in advance of the expected dates for the work.
- Residents and businesses fronting the paving locations will receive written project notices.
- Paving is weather sensitive so schedules may change.
Boulevards
The City Parks team maintains public boulevards and, like most municipalities, relies on property owners to maintain the boulevard along their property. Read more on the Boulevards page.
If you would like to make changes to the City boulevard adjacent to your property, please get in touch with the Engineering Department. This may include adding plantings, removing a tree or enclosing a ditch.
Crack Sealing Program
Crack sealing is an important road maintenance practice that extends the life of asphalt and delays the significant costs and disruption of road replacement.
Sealing cracks with an oil-based product prevents water from penetrating deep into the asphalt and creating potholes. Sand applied over sealed cracks is an important component of the crack sealing process for two reasons: it allows vehicles to drive over freshly sealed cracks without the oil product sticking to the vehicle tires; and it is necessary for proper bonding of the sealant to the crack. Once the sand and oil sealant have compacted into cracks—within about 24-48 hours—the residual sand is swept up.
We understand that traffic delays and sand on the roads are an inconvenience, and cyclists, scooter and motorcycle riders should use extra caution when sand may make the road slippery. We appreciate your patience and will work to complete the process as quickly as possible.
If you have any further questions regarding Colwood's crack sealing program, please contact the Engineering Department at 250-478-5999.