WHEREAS the Province of BC does not financially contribute to secondary highways within a local government; AND WHEREAS secondary highways carry a substantial volume of external traffic with an origin and a destination beyond local government boundaries; AND WHEREAS the full cost for operations and maintenance of secondary highways including railway crossings, bridges, traffic control are borne by the taxpayers of local governments: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government reinstate the Secondary Highway Program in BC in order to provide fair and equitable funding to affected local governments.
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION Secondary highways: A secondary highway see note below is a municipal road of generally less importance for inter-regional traffic than a road designated as an arterial highway. Legislation was amended in 1997 to eliminate the authority for the Ministry of Transportation Ministry to designate and fund secondary highways. A review of Ministry records indicates that at no time has a road in Sicamous been designated as a secondary highway. Arterial highways: An arterial highway is provincially-owned highway in a municipality that primarily serves inter-regional traffic and for which a high degree of functionality must be maintained. The Ministry is responsible for the administration and funding of arterial highways. The Community Charter transferred ownership of roads within a municipality to that municipality with the exception of pre-existing arterial highways. Under certain circumstances, a municipal road can be resumed by the Province of British Columbia and designated as an arterial highway. Note: a distinction is made between secondary roads and secondary highways. A secondary road is an internal Ministry functional classification applicable only to roads administered by the Ministry. A secondary highway existed where a designation was placed on a municipal road, via an Order in Council, which would then allow for provincial funds to be spent on that highway.