In the last few years, Islanders may have noticed that the painted lines on the roads seem to fade more than they used to.
These faded lines can be difficult to see, particularly at night and especially during nights when it is raining.
Understandably, people are concerned, and we have received a number of questions and complaints about the faded road lines.
I reached out to the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure & Energy (TIE), and learned that they have had to change the type of paint that it used to mark our roads. Before 2015, the Department used an oil-based paint made with highly volatile organic compounds. In 2015, the federal Department of Environment required TIE to stop using these highly volatile organic compounds in its road paint.
As a result of these federal regulations, TIE now uses an oil-based paint made with less volatile organic compounds. They are aware that the new type of paint does not reflect light as well as the old paint, but they must follow federal regulations.
To try to compensate for the lower reflectivity of the new paint, TIE has installed several hundred kilometres of raised pavement markings. They plan to continue to install more of these raised pavement markings where staff and budget allow.
I will continue to advocate for safe roads for all Islanders. Please reach out anytime if you have safety concerns about particular stretches of road.
The Federal Department of Environment came out with new regulations in 2015 stating that PEI could no longer use high VOC (volatile organic compounds) oil-based paint between the end of April and end of October. The department tried using water-based paints which was very ineffective when it came to reflectivity, so they have opted to use a low VOC oil-based paint; however, it still does not have the high reflectivity of the old oil-based paints, but the department is required to follow the federal environmental guidelines.
The department has several hundred kms of the RPM (raised pavement markings) across the province. They have some collector roads with RPM, example: Route 6, Route 25, and various others. The department continues to install new RPMs on newly paved roads where they exist today and will continue to install more as budget and staff time allows.
