New Waze technology allows residents to view line painting operations in real-time

Whitby, Ontario – The Regional Municipality of Durham would like to advise residents that roadway line painting is now underway. While drivers are asked to exercise caution when approaching these vehicles, residents can now follow line painting operations using Waze—an innovative live traffic and navigation app.

When: Weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., or overnight, until October.

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

Why: Line painting on roads is an important road safety activity. 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.

Drivers are reminded to please be patient, exercise caution, keep a safe distance back from the follow-up trucks, and do not attempt to 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 reflective road lane lines.

The Region recently equipped road painting trucks with new technology that allows residents to view the location of painting operations in real-time. When possible, residents are asked to seek an alternate route using the Waze app.

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

– 30 –

For more information, contact Corporate Communications.