Durham roadways get fresh paint during line painting season

Whitby, Ontario – The Regional Municipality of Durham’s annual line painting season is underway and Durham road users are reminded to exercise caution when approaching line painting vehicles. Before heading out on the road, residents can follow line painting operations in real time using live traffic and navigation apps.

Drivers are reminded to please be patient, exercise caution, keep a safe distance back from the follow-up trucks and do not cross freshly painted lines. The applied paint contains glass beads to make the colour reflective. Driving on freshly painted lines can cause damage to vehicles and compromise the quality of the road lane line reflectivity.

When: Operations are taking place primarily on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., with occasional weekend and nighttime operations, until November.

Where: On all Regional roads totaling more than 3,700 lane kilometres. Road line painting operations will also take place at select local area municipal roads and various Ministry of Transportation Ontario on/off-ramp intersections.

Why: Line painting on roads is an important road safety feature. Line markings are used to define lanes and guide traffic on roadways, as well as provide guidance to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians about allowable or prohibitive maneuvers.

Note: Line painting is a moving operation that progresses at reduced speeds to ensure the proper application of road paint. Follow-up trucks travel behind the trucks applying the paint to act as a buffer and allow sufficient paint drying time.

Line painting trucks are equipped with technology that allows residents to view the location of painting operations in real time. When possible, residents are asked to seek an alternate route to avoid painting operations.

For more information about line painting operations in Durham Region, including access to real-time vehicle information, visit durham.ca/LinePainting.

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For media inquiries, please contact Corporate Communications.