Disappearing road markings in Ottawa. Councillor raises concerns about paint for road lanes, intersections

As City of Ottawa crews begin repainting markings on roadways and at intersections this spring, a city councillor is raising concerns about the disappearing lines on the road and the type of paint being used.

Tim Tierney, the chair of Ottawa’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, says new requirements introduced by the federal government in 2023 targeting volatile organic compounds in commercial products have resulted in disappearing lines.

In an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll, Tierney said drivers are having trouble seeing the lines, and it’s becoming a hazard.

“I know your listeners, as they’re trapped in vehicle traffic right now, are going to look at an intersection and go, ‘Holy cow, there is no …. where are the pedestrians going to cross? Where’s the stop bar?’”

Tierney says the changes to the Volatile Organic Compound Levels in 2023 changed the guidelines for road paints that are used on city streets.

“Now, we’re going out two or three times a year to be able to paint with this…..lower quality of paint,” Tierney said Monday morning.

“It doesn’t stick as well, it’s not as reflective, and you can only paint in certain temperatures. Unlike before, we could get out there right away and start painting, that doesn’t happen and when you get a couple of millimetres (of rain) on the ground, you’ve got to wait - we can’t get the paint trucks out yet. That creates a dangerous, dangerous situation – not only for drivers, but pedestrians in intersections.”

City crews refresh the paint on the roads each year, including intersection markings, roadway lines, and traffic calming measures.

Tierney says while the required changes to the volatile organic compound levels in road paint were “well intentioned,” municipalities across the country are raising concerns about the paint.

“When it comes to practicality in the Canadian environment, it doesn’t apply.”

According to the City of Ottawa’s website, the city uses several different paints to refresh over 6,500 intersections and hundreds of kilometres of roadway each year. The city uses MMA (methyl methacrylate) paint and acetone-based and water-based paints. The city says MMA paint is “high durable, having potential to reduce the workload of the annual maintenance period over time.”

Tierney says Ottawa needs the reflections in the road paint for motorists. Another complaint the councillor has been receiving is the realignment of roads that have the old lines, but the new lines are disappearing.

The councillor says Ottawa has had to purchase a special MMA paint truck, and staff are trying to address the problems.

“We have to paint two or three times a year, sometimes, for those heavier used roads, and they’re going out there emitting more greenhouse gases with these vehicles,” Tierney said.

“It requires a heavy vehicle to paint these lines. When they applied a blanket rule, the intention is great but when it comes to roads and safety, I think we have to find a better solution.”

Tierney says he is working with 3M to explore safer and more durable paint for roads.

“Either find a better solution or go back to what works,” Tierney said.

The city has been dealing with complaints about the fading paint and road markings for years.

A 2019 City of Ottawa report for the transportation committee noted the federal government’s 2012 legislation mandating road marking paintings be formulated with less volatile organic compounds, “resulted in compromised durability of pavement markings.”

“Since starting to use the legislated and affordable paint in 2012, pavement marking complaints have increased,” staff said in 2019. “Ottawa’s winter climate and accompanying roadway maintenance activities have been shown to reduce the paint’s durability to less than a year, especially on arterial roads with heavy vehicle use. Other more durable pavement marking products providing a longer service life are available, but they come at a significantly higher cost and cannot be accommodated within the existing operating budget.”

The city purchased a new MMA paint truck in 2021 for road markings.

Tierney asked staff for a report on the road markings in June.