Many Roberts Creek residents are disturbed that highway crews discarded "slow down" signs painted by children. Capilano Highway Services says its Ministry of Transportation contract requires it remove unauthorized signs in a ministry right-of-way. Four families initiated the community road safety campaign this summer, painting 50 "slow down" signs and posting them on Lower Road, Roberts Creek Road and Beach Avenue. They retrieved four of those signs from the landfill after Capilano crews were spotted removing the signs on Oct. 19.
"We've since had to explain to our children and our neighbours why their efforts were treated, literally, like garbage," said Beach Avenue resident Mark Wilson. "We understand the need for regulations and for Capilano Highway Services to do their work. However, it has been disheartening and disturbing to witness the insensitive and disrespectful way in which this situation was handled by both Capilano Highway Services and the Ministry of Transportation."
Wilson estimates it took approximately 60 hours of work by more than 100 people to make the signs, after buying supplies and having wood donated.
"We received immediate and nearly unanimous appreciative feedback from scores of community members, giving us a sense that we had come together to take action around an issue of growing importance to our neighbours and ourselves," Wilson noted.
The group of eight residents and their children are seeking from Capilano and the ministry an apology, a move to more co-operative problem solving, clarification of ministry road signage guidelines and a $500 reimbursement for the supplies and time put in to making the signs. The group had also hoped to see Capilano and ministry representatives at the Sunshine Coast Regional District's transportation open house Wednesday night.
Capilano's general manager Steve Drummond said earlier this week he has been discussing the issue with the ministry and encourages residents to contact the ministry to clarify regulations and apply for permits.
"Unauthorized signs are not allowed to be put on a highway right-of-way, so as part of our contract we are to remove what are called unauthorized or illegal signs from a highway right-of-way," Drummond explained. He noted Capilano knew of the signs for a month before they removed them due to a public complaint.
"We were aware of them and left them up until we received a complaint from somebody in the public," he said. "It's too bad. There was nothing on the back of the signs to know who was responsible for this. The people who put the signs up - I'm sure they weren't aware they were putting signs up illegally."
Capilano deals with illegal signs on a weekly basis and usually hangs on to the signs before discarding them. Drummond said the removal was a crew decision, not ordered by management, and he was continuing to look into what had happened with the signs.
Calls to the ministry's area manager were not returned by Coast Reporter's deadline Wednesday afternoon.
