News
Safety, infrastructure improvements for B.C. communities

December
20, 2012, Victoria, B.C. – The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's
2012 Community Service Initiative, in partnership with the B.C. Road Builders
and Heavy Construction Association, has resulted in the completion of local
infrastructure improvements that will benefit families in many communities
around the province.

December
20, 2012, Victoria, B.C. – The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's
2012 Community Service Initiative, in partnership with the B.C. Road Builders
and Heavy Construction Association, has resulted in the completion of local
infrastructure improvements that will benefit families in many communities
around the province.

This
is the second year that the ministry has partnered with its highway-maintenance
contractors to undertake improvements in smaller B.C. communities. Ministry
staff and staff from local highway-maintenance contractors volunteer their
time, expertise and equipment for projects that benefit local residents by
improving community infrastructure.

An
example of this community work is the enhancements to the Tynehead Hatchery in
Surrey. Over the course of two days, staff from the ministry and Mainroad Lower
Mainland helped repair fish gates, painted salmon holding rooms, repaired fish
pond docks, planted trees, added soil and repaired netting at the hatchery,
which itself is a volunteer-run organization.

The
ministry has also invested an additional $5 million this year to improve safety
for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on highways in and near B.C.
communities. 22 of these projects are on the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, and
Vancouver Island and all have been completed.

Examples
of the projects include crosswalk improvements, installation of an advance left
turn signal on Highway 7 in Maple Ridge and shoulder widening for cyclists in
Port Alberni. These projects were chosen by the Ministry through consultation
with local governments and law enforcement.

Under
B.C.'s Family Agenda, government is working hard to improve the safety of roads
and highways that connect families across every region of British Columbia. To
learn about more road safety actions, visit www.familiesfirstbc.ca.