Winter tire time extended

The B.C. government has extended the period in which winter tires are mandatory on mountain highways.

The changes come as winter refuses to release its grip up high and spring is slow in coming to the valley bottoms.  

Winter tire and chain regulations on mountain routes have been extended to April 30 instead of March 31.

The NDP brought in stricter measures on commercial vehicles after a long and challenging winter with an unusually high number of highway closures and collisions.

In perhaps the understatement of the year, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure described the 2017-18 winter as "intense."

And more snow is expected on higher elevation passes in the Interior this weekend.

The ministry is moving on a number of measures, including:

• Stricter commercial vehicle chain-up requirements, including higher fines for commercial vehicles not carrying chains, or not chaining up when required. Currently, the fine is $121.
• A pilot program to restrict commercial vehicles from using the far left lane on key three-lane highway sections in the winter, to ensure routes remain open to snow plows, emergency vehicles, and passenger vehicles.
• Investing $1.8 million over the next three years in additional weather stations and overhead message signs to provide better real-time weather and road condition information.
• Enhanced road-maintenance contractor monitoring and auditing, leveraging new tools and technology, like road weather stations, variable speed limit systems, and GPS tracking of snow plows.
• Extending winter tire and chain regulations on select highways, including mountain passes and rural routes in high snowfall areas, from Oct. 1 to April 30 (instead of March 31), to account for early spring snowfall.
• More support for the Winter Driving Safety Alliance through a specific winter driving campaign, to promote safe winter driving behaviour and awareness for all drivers.

"I have heard from people and communities throughout the province that we need to take action to improve safety on our highways," said Claire Trevena, minister of transportation and infrastructure. 

Any regulatory changes would take effect next winter.