Pavement Markings Begin on May 4th

Mark your calendars because May 4^th marks the start of the pavement markings season! It will begin with centre line and edge line painting on arterial roads, along with refreshing key transverse markings – like crosswalks and stop bars – in areas with higher volumes of cyclists, pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Segregated bike lane painting will also be a focus in May, with work – weather permitting – expected to be completed before the end of the month. 

Traffic pro tip: don’t ignore the signs of our working artists! When lights are flashing and a large “WET PAINT” sign is up, follow from a safe distance and never pass working vehicles. Fresh paint can splatter as it’s applied, so staying back helps protect your vehicle. 

Factors that affect pavement markings

So much planning goes into pavement markings season, but there are still factors beyond our control that can impact operations – so let’s talk about them: 

• Colder temperature: Any of the durable markings (think school zones and temporary traffic calming markings) can only be applied when outdoor temperature rises above 10 degrees Celsius; this helps ensure the marking properly adheres to the asphalt!

• Precipitation: markings can only be performed in dry climates as rain can wash away fresh paint.  

• Vehicular traffic: parked cars or traveling vehicles make it difficult and sometimes, even unsafe for our teams to work – so in certain cases (like when painting bike lanes, for example), work will be scheduled overnight to avoid closing down a road and prevent congestion. 

Look Ahead

Once arterial work, transverse marking in high-traffic areas and bike lane markings are complete, teams will move onto major collector roads to refresh their centrelines. Painting at non-signalized intersections, school zones and lower-volumed intersections will also begin before moving onto the Transitway.  

We are asking residents to allow time for seasonal pavement marking work to be completed as part of the planned program. More than 6,000 kilometres of roads, thousands of stencils, hundreds of cycle lanes and much, much more need painting but teams will do their best to get to them as quickly as operationally possible. However, issues that pose an immediate safety concern should be reported right away – these include conflicting markings, faded crosswalks, missing stop bars or locations with known compliance challenges. To report an urgent issue with a pavement marking, please contact 311.