Courtenay council is attempting to find another route for the dump trucks that are making some Crown Isle residents’ lives miserable.
Councillors directed staff last week to look into writing a letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, asking to allow access on Atlas Road for the construction trucks.
The City has little jurisdiction or powers to halt the steady stream of dump trucks down Royal Vista Way to building construction sites at Crown Isle.
A briefing note provided to council Aug. 8 said Royal Vista Way is not a designated truck route.
“However, temporary construction exemptions exist for non-truck routes as it’s the only way to deliver construction goods,” wrote CAO David Allen.
He noted that the transportation ministry had closed an access off Ryan Road that the trucks were using due to safety concerns.
“That said, the City has contacted Crown Isle along with construction companies to request their assistance in dealing with these complaints,” Allen wrote.
“In particular, the City requested consideration of the concept of co-ordinating with the various builders and trades in an attempt to alleviate the concerns of neighbourhood residents.”
Allen said complaints regarding “unsecured loads” should be forwarded, with truck licence plate numbers, to the provincial commercial vehicle inspector at 1-888-775-8785.
“The City cannot enforce this,” Allen wrote.
“I think there’s an expectation the City is responsible … and that’s not the case,” he added.
City development services director Ian Buck said he had spoken with Crown Isle about the issue and a couple of contractors active in the area.
“Crown Isle indicated they would try to convene a meeting with the contractors and attempt to minimize the impact,” he said.
Coun. David Frisch wondered if there was an opportunity to ask the provincial government to allow access off Atlas Road. He subsequently made a motion that was passed directing staff to investigate drafting a letter suggesting dump trucks use an alternate route such as Atlas Road or Ryan Road.