Roadway line painting underway

Roadway line painting is underway and residents now have a way of keeping tabs on where they’ll be throughout the region.

The Region of Durham says line painting on roads is an important road safety activity which helps define lanes and guide traffic on roadways, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Line painting will continue throughout October and can occur anytime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., or overnight. According to the region, trucks drive at a low speed to ensure the proper application of the road paint. Follow-up trucks travel behind the trucks applying the paint to act as a buffer and allow sufficient paint drying time.

The region is reminding drivers to be patient, exercise caution and keep a safe distance from the working trucks. Also, drivers should not cross freshly painted lines as the paint contains glass beads, which helps make the colour reflective.

“Driving on freshly painted lines can cause damage to vehicles and compromise the quality of the reflective road lane lines,” states a region press release.

In order to help residents navigate these areas, the region has equipped its road painting trucks with new technology that allows residents to view the location of painting operations in real time. The region says residents can view affected routes using the Waze app – an innovative live traffic and navigation app – and choose an alternate route whenever possible.

The region is responsible for roadway pavement markings on more than 3,000 lane kilometres in Durham Region, including all regional roads and many municipal roads.

For more information about line painting operations in Durham Region, visit www.durham.ca/linepainting.