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Dust, oil and noise for summer, new streets by fall

“We have a well developed plan,” county road engineer Joe Rutan told several dozen community members gathered at the community center. “It should really lift the roads up in your community.”

Mike Roberts and Dan Bakke from the county roads department joined Rutan at the April 24 meeting to outline plans for a million dollars in road work for the Point. The county has already started on its plans to resurface most Point Roberts roads and upgrade roads in certain neighborhoods.

Work began with crack sealing on Tyee Drive. Pre-leveling on rough roads has already started on Mill Road. “If you look at roads like Boundary Bay Road that will address those dips and bumps and smooth them out,” Rutan said. Roberts explained a fine grade of asphalt was used to level the road and covered with rougher asphalt or chipseal later to provide adequate traction.

After four weeks leveling the roads Rutan said work will start resurfacing them. “The biggest impact will be the chipsealing,” he said. Crews will lay down an oil mat and roll in a layer of rock. “It seals the road underneath and increases driving traction,” Bakke said.

Chipsealing will start in mid July and a crew of 25 will cover from three to five miles a day for two to three weeks. Once the chipseal is applied, drivers should drive slowly while the road surface cures, Bakke said. “You can drive on it right away but it’s really tender,” he said, adding loose rock would be swept off the roads after they cure.

Some audience members complained chipseal was for rural roads and the Point deserves asphalt on all roads. “This is not really a farm district,” said Bruno Moras. “Chipseal is noisy and tough to walk and cycle on.”

“It’s not an issue of desire or effort. It’s an issue of economics,” Roberts said. Chipseal costs approximately $13,000 per mile while asphalt paving costs $43,000 per mile. However, chipseal requires more frequent maintenance and does not have the benefit of improving road strength that asphalt offers. “It’s a little bit like comparing apples and oranges,” he said.

Bakke also said the new chipseal surface will be smoother than the old roads. “We’re using a smaller half inch rock and I think you’ll notice a difference,” He said. He also said that chipseal offers a safety advantage. “The noise you’re hearing is traction. It’s a good surface for stopping on an icy morning.”

Under new county standards for high-density areas, some parts of the Point will get paving, specifically Maple Beach and Crystal Water Beach. “We realize this is a special area,” Rutan said. “This will be the first time we’re doing this in the county.” Gravel roads in the Shady Glen subdivision and some of the province roads will also get an upgrade, being converted to chipseal. “I’m very appreciative of this whole program,” said Shady Glen Avenue resident David Chamberlain.

Several audience members asked if funds might be better spent improving trails and paths for non-motorized user rather than paving roads. Tom Bradbury specifically pointed to widened shoulders on major roads that are degrading. “Unless you put a hard surface on it no one will use it,” he said. Roberts said the wide shoulders will be cleaned but a comprehensive plan for trail development was needed to move forward with new trails or upgrades.

“We need to go before county council and they want us to work it up programmatically,” Rutan said. He added that paving trails would mean additional challenges managing stormwater. “The minute you add more than 4,000 square feet of impervious surface we have to allow for detention. It’s about more than slapping down asphalt. The cost of paved shoulders will be drainage.” Taxpayers association member Michael Rosser, also on the economic development committee’s trails committee, said he had been working with Rutan’s predecessor Bruce Mills to marry the need for better drainage to the need for more trails. “We’d like to propose some cooperative planning to create something combined with wetland planning that is aesthetically pleasing.”

Audience members also brought up concerns about speeding drivers, specifically heading for the golf course, which Roberts said was more a law enforcement than a road design issue. Other concerns included parking at Maple Beach and a four-way stop at Mill and Johnson roads, which Roberts and Rutan said they would investigate. Roberts later said the roads meeting had generated a significant number of calls regarding capital improvements to roads which they hoped to address with a meeting this fall.

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