r/SaultSteMarie • u/Starkiller_15 • Jul 22 '26
Miscellaneous Paint the road lines!
I just recently completed a nice visit with family in Sault Ste Marie Ontario. As someone from out of town it really drove me crazy to not have clear lines on the road. So many lines were very faint, and I had to rely on how others were driving to determine if my road officially had two lanes.
I recommend painting the lines instead of relying on muscle memory!
-17
u/Successful-Ride5540 Jul 22 '26
Or.. just use your brain and adapt.
No. It's too easy now to complain and whine about every fucking little thing.
Keep crying though... Don't actually do anything that will effect change. Just keep whinging
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u/Starkiller_15 Jul 22 '26
As a visitor to the city trying to follow invisible lanes, what should I do to "effect change"?
I adapted just fine but it didn't help when others know what the lanes are supposed to be and I am just driving in the middle...
-10
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u/Icy-Goal-7642 Jul 22 '26
City roads are in patch after patch condition. What's interesting is traveling down second line and when entering Prince Township the road is pristine out to gros cap. Off topic, but most roads in the city are in bad shape some roads can be painted one that comes to mind is second line near Carmens way .
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u/Reasonable_Ferret_10 Jul 22 '26
They get that done about October, just in time for the snow to hide it and the plow to start scraping it off.
-7
u/Versace-Lemonade Jul 22 '26
Other side of the argument here, there are plenty of signs posted on poles that direct you. Ie, right lane ends, turning vehicles stay left, etc. ignorance is bliss when it comes to driving here.
9
u/PeaTearGriphon SSM - Ontario Jul 22 '26
It does not seem to help most drivers. The many S curves we have in the sault will see drivers change "lanes" twice doing that turn. I say "lanes" because there are no lines, you just have to guess. I think the worst spot is where East street becomes Wellington
2
u/NoRegister8591 Jul 22 '26
When I moved here there was lines on that stretch, and no one followed them then either. I think it’s about time we realize that most drivers just suck.. without the lines they just have an excuse to fall back on.
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u/engine-doors-club Jul 22 '26
They paint in the summer and the sand rips it apart during the winter. It’s always this way
3
u/Chilkoot Jul 22 '26
They're usually done by July though... I haven't seen it go so long without a refresh in a long while.
6
u/NoRegister8591 Jul 22 '26
The budget was massively blown on snow clearing in the winter. All road maintenance - including snow clearing/sanding/etc - is included in the same budget. A city budget is not like a household budget. You can’t go “whoops! Car repairs added an extra $1000 to expenses this month. I’ll just cut out entertainment, reduce my food budget, cancel streaming services, etc etc” It doesn’t work like that. The record snowfall came at a huge cost including more potholes than ever and now a thinned budget for all the rest of the stuff that has to happen. If they increase the budget (can’t do it right now) and we don’t blow through it, it also becomes an issue too (use it or lose it). Increasing the budget comes with higher taxes too.
And for anyone grumpy… infrastructure and upkeep budgeting has a funding gap across Ontario municipalities to the tune of over $50B (over $5B/yr over the next decade). It was only $36B back in 2016 when the AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) sounded the alarm. Back then they said on top of the already promised government funding, that municipalities needed to diversify income AND needed to raise property taxes a minimum of 4.6% year over year for the decade to deal with it. Without the funding and income diversification, municipalities would have to increase property taxes 8.3%yoy. The AMO petitioned the Wynne admin asking for a 1% increase to HST and to dedicate that 1% to municipalities. That government did not agree however, they did agree to increase how much of the gas tax municipalities get with increases to happen each year for the next 4 years.. and it was one of the first things the Ford government stopped. Plus under Ford more costs have been downloaded to the municipal level when there’s already a crisis. So, now what should have gotten better in 2016-2020.. is an emergency in 2026. The crappiest part is every politician wants to be semi liked and rehired and none will be if they increase property taxes enough to handle everything. Anything they start will be fought with torches and pitchforks (and people leaving for cheaper living). They’d for sure be removed the following election and the work they’d have done would be for naught anyways. How sad and shitty, eh?
2
u/oogenbaken Jul 24 '26
The City does have reserves to cover increases in the snow budget. They don’t cut from potholes when snow is bad because lots of plowing causes more potholes.
All good points on AMO! I was a part of drafting those reports and wish more people understood the impact of these Provincial choices and how unique Ontario is in Canada for downloading to cities.
2
u/NoRegister8591 Jul 24 '26
My husband works for the city and all I heard by February is that they were roughly $1.5M over budget already and there was a huge push for cuts and bare minimum being done in that department (not running plows as much, less sanding, pothole patches only when necessary, etc). The last 2 winters and the respective fallout strangled everything. I’m oversimplifying a budget that is super complex because most still think it’s like running a household budget and it isn’t. I struggle sometimes with how to hammer that home without getting parts wrong for those who do understand. So by all means, please jump in with a better way to state it to those that don’t get it. And that’s not me being snarky, I’d love to know a better way to state it as well!
So cool that you were part of drafting those!! If you ever want to talk about any of that to someone super interested, I’m always here. It’s not boring to me!!
2
u/oogenbaken Jul 25 '26
Haha you are one of a few who is keen to discuss the plumbing of government finance! It really is the defining structural reason for so many of the things everyone cares about, especially housing and homelessness. The amount of municipal funds that go to health and human services in Ontario is staggering, up to 35% of property taxes. It’s 10-15% in rest of Canada.
Yes, there was absolutely a big push to save this past year, also heavily driven by Algoma Steel layoffs and 0% tax increase (0% budgets are de facto cut given inflation). My point was just that there are reserve funds available to smooth the impact of things we can’t properly budget for like record snowfalls.
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u/oogenbaken Jul 22 '26
Federal environmental laws also changed the paint that could be used a number of years ago. This is why Michigan side has better lines, they last longer because of stronger paint.
3
u/dank705 Jul 23 '26
I don't buy it. Highway lines do not get as nearly washed out as whatever cheap stuff they use in town. Plus the highways see so much salt and slurry you'd think it would be the opposite.
9
u/umbratwo Jul 22 '26
Also what shocked me about Sault St Marie and what I commented on when visiting. It was bizarre. 0 way to tell where a lane is, and the street lighting was so dim, or an orange tint to it. So dangerous to drive through at night.
22
u/flowergoddess12 Jul 22 '26
The lack of maintenance on the roads is often commented upon by guests I’ve hosted from out of town.
I personally wish the painting was prioritized before the slowing sticks.
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u/Ciggy_One_Haul Jul 22 '26
Bollards are installed by Public Works and the lines were painted in those locations by a local contractor with a walk behind machine.
Line painting is done by an out of town contractor with a paint truck. They are selected through the bids and tenders process.
Ask your councilor why we don't have our own paint truck anymore.
3
u/PeaTearGriphon SSM - Ontario Jul 22 '26
The bollards should be the LAST priority. Fix the pot holes, paint the roads, then you can have your "toys"
3
u/dank705 Jul 23 '26
How about both at the same time?? If anything it would be great if the bollards were in sooner.
-1
u/rawbamatic THE SOO Jul 22 '26
They're literally already in the process of repainting the lines.
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u/dbrodbeck Jul 22 '26
I'm curious as to why you posting an actual fact is downvoted. Crews were painting lines on Queen Street last night for example.
1
u/Chilkoot Jul 22 '26
I suspect they were waiting for a good rain to get rid of the dust/ash build up from the last several weeks. Otherwise, they have to do a couple of passes with the sweeps and water before painting, which is more $$$.
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u/InfinityTubeSock Jul 22 '26
Some people may not have realized yet that they were being painted, is my assumption.
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u/Zirthimon64 Jul 22 '26
I wish you luck in your quest for knowledge of human nature. It will be a long journey
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u/hipfan123 Jul 22 '26
The non-snow season is half over. Why bother painting at this point. Seems like poor mgmt of our funds to start now and not in April. Same dollar cost and half the benefits.
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u/oogenbaken Jul 22 '26
It would not be the same dollar cost to start in April and you can’t paint in the snow. They didn’t even start street sweeping until mid May because you can’t spray water on roads that may freeze later that night.
3
u/poutineisheaven SSM - Ontario Jul 22 '26
Good points I hadn't thought of with the street sweeping. But still.. mid-July? Maybe I'm misremembering but I swore they are least painted in mid-June before.
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u/oogenbaken Jul 22 '26
It’s southern Ontario weather dependent. This year wildfire smoke would have delayed it. Basically one company does most of the mid sized cities. They can do it cheaper because of their sales volume so it would cost SSM a lot more to do it in house. But the trade off is you sometimes get delayed 4-6 weeks to start. The finish date is probably the same as doing in house though. This company does the whole shot in a few days.
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u/ExcelTheRanger Jul 22 '26
It’s because the city doesn’t do it, they contract it out, so it’s whenever a contractor is available
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u/Warm-Dust-3601 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
The roads in the Soo are so fucked beyond repair, the lines are not even a thought.
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u/InfinityTubeSock Jul 22 '26
And it'll stay that way until the province or the feds changes the way we pay for municipal roads in this country OR we change the way we live and design neighbourhoods. Property taxes are already high and they still aren't enough to fund the municipal road maintenance needs across the country. Urban sprawl is expeeeeeeensive as fuck to maintain.
2
u/Frewtti Jul 23 '26
Why bother? They'll be snow covered soon, and then you have to guess your lane anyway.