The B.C. Ministry of Transportation has agreed to a slew of changes after public complaints about poor signage on roads in Metro Vancouver and promises more to come for Highway 17, the new South Fraser Perimeter Road. The province is taking the action after a Vancouver Sun story published in June about confusing signs on Highway 17 sparked a fire storm of comments from motorists who were urged to write in about their biggest beefs. “We totally appreciate your feedback and have acted on quite a few of them,” confirmed Lina Halwani, the ministry’s South Coast regional manager of engineering, based in Coquitlam. “We’re not saying our system is perfect. Of course, there is room for improvement.” Ministry engineers draw upon standards set by the Transportation Association of Canada, a provincial manual of standard traffic signs, and comments such as from municipalities. Ed Miska, the ministry’s director of highway design and engineering, said in Victoria that signage is a balancing act between providing too much and too little information. “If we put too many signs up there or too much information, the sign can become a distraction or if it takes too long to read then people can slow down to the point it becomes unsafe.” Sun readers didn’t mince their words about roads signs, calling them ludicrous, a gong show, stupid, and mentally challenged. “One could be forgiven for thinking that those in charge live in some other country, never travel the routes or don’t drive,” wrote Gary Catherwood of Coquitlam. Elizabeth McVicar of Surrey added: “I have long been of the opinion that highway signs are for the benefit of those who already know where they’re going.” Highway 17, which opened in 2013, proved to be the biggest bone of contention with readers. The $1.3-billion freeway links South Delta to the Highway 1 freeway at 176th Street, with three major bridge connections along the way. Ralph Jones of Chilliwack has endless problems navigating the Highway 17 and Highway 91 interchange, suggesting a “quirky person, or somebody with a malicious sense of humour” is to blame. The Sun’s senior web editor, Jeff Beamish, recalls the driver of a TransLink route 351 bus who became confused by the road signs as he drove along Highway 99 from South Surrey to the Bridgeport Canada Line station in Richmond. “Somehow he missed the bus lane and wound up taking his confused commuters south on Highway 17 to Tsawwassen, where he turned around in a parking lot on 56th Street,” Beamish recalls. The meandering trip took more than double the bus route’s usual 35 minutes. Halwani said that signs initially on Highway 17 were designed to allow residents to find their way through their communities. The Sun’s story showed that drivers from outside the area find the highway very confusing. The ministry has already posted big signs indicating the Alex Fraser Bridge and plans to install new signs for New Westminster, North Delta, Richmond and Vancouver to clarify motorists’ choices — and says motorists should expect more changes in future.

“Highway 17 is quite unique, a brand new highway in the Lower Mainland,” Halwani said. “We’re looking at the whole corridor and a lot of these signs are going to be upgraded.” After The Sun’s correspondence, TransLink has also put up a sign for motorists westbound on Golden Ears Way in north Surrey to turn right to access Highway 17. And the City of Surrey has ordered signs alerting drivers southbound off the Pattullo Bridge to turn right onto Scott Road to connect with the new Highway 17. The biggest complaints outside Metro Vancouver involved the McTavish Interchange near Victoria International Airport in North Saanich. Retired Alberta judge Ben Casson, now a local resident, calls it the “Gary Go Round” in honour of its “chief sponsor,” former Conservative MP Gary Lunn. Adds Wayne McCrory of Hills in the West Kootenay: “I staying in Sidney recently and my longtime friend told me not to use the new cloverleaf ... south of the ferry terminal. He was so disgusted with the confusing maze and poor signage. I tried it anyways and indeed it is a confusing mess. As diligent as I was, I still ended up in the bus stop turn around. Too little notice, too poor directions.” The province says in response that signs for the roundabouts at McTavish Interchange have been modified, including directions on the pavement and clearer overhead signs. “To be honest, we’re not getting as many complaints,” Halwani said. The City of Vancouver did not respond to a reader’s complaint that the signage is poor and inconsistent for motorists entering the city from the Lions Gate Bridge and trying find their way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal or Vancouver International Airport. The province did not agree with all The Sun readers’ suggestions. It tossed cold water on what seemed like a great idea: put up a sign for Whistler-bound American tourists at the Douglas border crossing directing them to turn east on Eighth Avenue then north on 176 Street all the way to Highway 1 — a route that avoids the hassle of driving through downtown Vancouver, especially during rush hour. The ministry countered that signs typically guide traffic to the next largest destination point — in this case, Vancouver, which is also a toll-free route. A later sign does indicate the route to Highway 1, which would connect with Whistler. Elsewhere, there is a sign on Highway 17 southwest of Pattullo Bridge that states Delta is 19 kilometres off. In fact, the border to Delta is closer to three kilometres away. The ministry says that any city distance sign provides the distance to the city centre or city hall. Who knew? The ministry also didn’t sympathize with the motorist who complained that driving westbound on the Upper Levels Highway from North Vancouver or the Second Narrows Bridge there is no sign directing traffic to Lions Gate Bridge via the faster route, Capilano Road. The ministry says that Capilano is a municipal road and that additional signs will be post to direct motorists to the provincial route, Taylor Way.