British Columbians can drive faster on some provincial highways, up to 120 kilometres per hour, Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced Wednesday.
Stone said he鈥檚 increasing speed limits on 1,300 km of rural provincial highway in the Southern Interior, 91原创 Island and the Lower Mainland, and raising the maximum speed to 120 km/h on certain sections.
The highways now set at 120 km/h include Highway 5 (the Coquihalla) from Hope to Kamloops, Highway 97C from Aspen Grove to the Drought Hill Interchange in Peachland, as well as Highway 19 from Parksville to Campbell River on the Island.
The move comes after public consultation on highway speed limits, as well as engineering reviews of highways conducted by the Ministry of Transportation, said Stone.
There was no support from the public to increase speed limits in Northern B.C., so nothing was changed in that region, said Stone.
Most of the speed changes will come into effect this summer, though increases to the Coquihalla, as well as highways near Peachland and the Fraser Valley began immediately on Wednesday.
Stone also announced new 鈥渧ariable鈥 speed limits zones on three highways 鈥 a section of the Trans-Canada Highway, Coquihalla and Sea-to-Sky highway 鈥 where government officials can raise or lower the speed limit on a roadside LED sign depending on weather and road conditions.
He said the province will also change legislation to give better enforcement tools to police so they can ticket slow-moving drivers who refuse to pull into the right lane and clog up traffic in the left passing lane.
That鈥檚 a particular problem on the Island highway to Tofino, where the government will install new signs directing slower motorists to use designated pullout sections if they are impeding more than five vehicles behind them, said Stone.
The government also plans to change rules to allow mud and snow tires to be designated snow tires, as well as tires that have the mountain and snowflake symbol, said Stone.
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A full list of highway speed changes by the B.C. government
Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon
鈥 Highway 1 Whatcom Road (Exit 95) to junction with Highway 3 (74 km)
New speed limit: 110 (in effect today)
Previous speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 1 East of Lake of the Woods Rest Area to Boston Bar (55 km)
Current speed limit: 80, 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 1 Boston Bar to Falls Creek (24 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 7 Vehicle pull-out west of Haig Scale, Agassiz to Highway 1 junction, Hope (5 km)
Current speed limit: 90, 100
New speed limit: 100
Sea to Sky
鈥 Highway 99 Eagle Ridge Interchange, Horseshoe Bay to south of the Stawamus River Bridge near Squamish (35 km)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 99 North of Depot Road, Squamish to Function Junction, Whistler (45 km)
Current speed limit: 80, 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 99 South of Whistler Heliport Road to Pemberton Boundary (21 km)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit:90
鈥 Highway 99 East of Lillooet near the Pavilion Lime Plant to the Highway 97 junction (22 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
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91原创 Island
鈥 Highway 1 Three 80 km/h sections between Bench Road, Cowichan Bay and Beck Road, north of the Nanaimo Airport (totalling 10 km)
Current speed limit: 80, 90
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 19 Parksville to south of Willis Road, Campbell River (114 km)
Current speed limit: 110
New speed limit: 120
鈥 Highway 19 Duncan Bay Road to Menzies Road, Campbell River (4 km)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 19 Campbell River to Sullivan Road, Sayward (44 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 19 North of Campbell Way, Port McNeill to Douglas Street, Port Hardy (35 km)
Current speed limit: 80, 90
New speed limit: 100
Southern Interior
鈥 Highway 1 Six Mile Rest Area near Tobiano to Savona (12 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 1 Chase to Hilltop Road, East of Sorrento (25 km, excluding 60 km/h section through Sorrento)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 1 Canoe (near Salmon Arm) to Highway 23 South, Revelstoke (58 km, excluding 60 km/h section through Sicamous)
Current speed limit: 90, 100
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 1 Highway 23 North, Revelstoke to Anderson Road, Golden (101 km, excluding parks)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 3 Start of Highway 3 (Exit 170) to junction with Highway 5 Coquihalla (7 km)
Current speed limit: 100
New speed limit: 110
鈥 Highway 3 Sunshine Valley to Manning Park East Boundary (33 km)
Current speed limit: 80, 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 3 Sunday Summit to Whipsaw Creek, west of Princeton (22 km)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 5 Hope (Exit 177) to Othello Road (4 km)
New speed limit: 110 (in effect today)
Previous speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 5 Othello Road, near Hope to Highway 1 junction, near Kamloops (200 km)
New speed limit: 120 (in effect today)
Previous speed limit: 110
鈥 Highway 5 Heffley to Little Fort (67 km, excluding 60 km/h section through Barriere)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 5A Old Hedley Road, north of Princeton to Highway 97C junction (36 km, excluding 70 km/h section through Aspen Grove)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 6 New Denver to Purdy Road, north of Hills (15 km, excluding 70 km/h section through Hills)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 6 Purdy Road, Hills to Upper Brouse Road, Nakusp (22 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 33 South of Gallagher Road to McCulloch Road (32 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 33 North of Highway 3 junction, Rock Creek to Westbridge (12 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 97 North of Willow Drive, 70 Mile House to BCR Overpass, 100 Mile House (37 km)
Current speed limit: 100
New speed limit: 110
鈥 Highway 97 Gatzke Road, north of Oyama to College Way, south of Vernon (16 km)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100 - Pending completion of engineering assessment to determine if median barriers are required before implementation of the new speed limit.
鈥 Highway 97 Highway 97A junction near Swan Lake to Westside Road (6 km)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 97A north of Smith Drive, Armstrong to Highway 97B junction, Enderby (18 km excluding 50 km/h section through Enderby)
Current speed limit: 90
New speed limit: 100
鈥 Highway 97A Highway 97B junction, near Grindrod to Sicamous (33 km, excluding 50 km/h section through Grindrod)
Current speed limit: 80
New speed limit: 90
鈥 Highway 97C Merritt to Aspen Grove (22 km)
Current speed limit: 100
New speed limit: 110
鈥 Highway 97C Aspen Grove to Drought Hill Interchange, Peachland (78 km)
New speed limit: 120 (in effect today)
Previous speed limit: 110
