When it comes to line painting, you can think of the 4 W's of Paint Performance: weather, winter, water-based, and wear.
The weather, the winter, the type of water- based paint we have to use, and the traffic all impact how long the lines last.
The Timmins Traffic Dept. paints 367 km's of lines each year. Plus, intersection stop bars, crosswalks, arrows, and bike lanes. It's an annual process.
The paint: It has to be water-based paint with low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) with less impact to the environment. This is a regulation set by the province in the Ontario Traffic Manual. We buy 6,000 litres of white paint, 4,000 litres of yellow paint, and 1,000 litres of white paint for crosswalks.
Application: Water-based paint is applied when the pavement is 10°c and rising. We hit those consistent temperatures mid-May in Timmins. The paint has to be applied on a clean, dry road surface. Not when it's raining and once street sweeping has been completed. Street sweeping starts when the temperatures are consistently above freezing.
The lanes are pre-marked first. This ensures the correct position, direction, width, and length of the lines, and acts as a guide for painting. We started pre-marking main arterial roads, like Algonquin, at the end of April.
We have one lane liner machine that paints all of the main arterial and secondary roads in Timmins. We use a walk-behind paint machine for intersections and crosswalks.
Vanishing lines: Line paint wears off more quickly in the city than on the highway because of traffic patterns, frequency of lane changes, and the harsh climate. The sand and salt that Public Works uses to keep the roads clear in the winter, plus the scrape of the plow, wears the lines down, which is why line painting is an annual job.
Improvements: We like long-lasting lines too. Our Traffic Dept. has started to use thermoplastics at intersections for stop bars and turning arrows, which have a lifespan of up to 3 years. We’re also making capital investments in the Connecting Link project to add durable pavement markings on the brand-new road surface with a lifespan of 5+ years. Our staff stay up-to-date on the latest technology, application methods, and training to improve the painting process.