Why are there no cat's eyes on Western Canadian roads?

12/26/2022 9:53:46 PM

To confirm my speculations that snow is also a factor, I went to search a little bit to see past proposals in Western Canada to add reflectors and the existing ones.

Reflective markings in Canada’s climate face many challenges. The reflective paints do not survive very well over the freeze-thaw cycle and the use of road salt and abrasives. And the reflectors do have problems with snow removal: they can be damaged from snow ploughs if too brittle, or they can damage the snow ploughs if they are too hard e.g. raised cast iron.

For example, in this article from TranBC (the provincial transportation department) regarding the difficulty finding appropriate paints for the roads, the challenges include

How long will each paint take the scouring of winter abrasives (aka crushed stone and gravel)? Will it stand up under the scraping of snow plow blades, what effect will heavy rain, snow or slush have, and how long will it be before the weight and friction of vehicles dull its shine?

While focusing on paints, the same issues are present for raised reflectors. In the comment section, the department mentioned in one comment:

We do use raised reflectors that are slightly recessed into the road surface to protect them from plough damage but it is still a challenge to have them last a whole season. Hope that this helps!

Alternatives such as roadside reflector posts and delineator signs, which are visible during snowfall (well, most of the times), do exist and are relatively common in BC and Alberta. But maintainance costs still exist (unfortunately, neither platics nor stickers do well over winter).

12/26/2022 9:19:23 PM

Yes.

Cost is the main one. Any road furniture costs money for installation and maintenance, and while the individual unit cost of cat’s eyes is much lower than lighting, it still adds up, especially given the long distances in a country the size of Canada.

In the UK, a much smaller country, we have a significant percentage of roads with no lighting or cat’s eyes, also due to cost

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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