Port Moody will alter its policies for road use permits after a bureaucratic snafu almost cast a pall over a cycling event Sunday that raised more than $8,000 for the SHARE food bank.
Jeff Moi, the city’s general manager of engineering and operations, told a special meeting of council last Thursday that when staff became aware about 200 cyclists would be passing through the city as part of an annual invitational event put on by the Tri-City Cycling Club (TCCC) to connect with other clubs around Metro Vancouver, organizers were requested to submit an application for a highway use permit.
He said such a permit ensures the city organizers have secured the proper insurance and emergency services can be notified of possible obstructions to the flow of traffic. A highway use permit for a major road costs $404.80 a day for a road that’s part of the city’s major road network, such as Ioco Road, while one for a local road is $247.20.
But, Moi said, the permitting system is really geared toward construction projects where a lane or roadway may be blocked by equipment or a storage container for a stretch of time. He said in the past non-profit groups or charitable events have been granted a waiver after a request to council or even at staff discretion.
Moi said streamlining the system through the creation of a formal policy that covers instances like a ride or a run put on for charity “will help avoid this kind of issue in the future. It’s something we could handle fairly straight forward in our policies.”
Adrian Pettyfer, one of TCCC’s founders, said despite the stress caused by the unexpected permit request, the ride went off without a hitch. He said cyclists headed off from Rocky Point Park along routes of 75, 85 or 100 km that took them across the Tri-Cities out to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge before returning through Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Belcarra, returning to the park for a barbecue.
Pettyfer said the permit requirement was a bit of a last-minute curveball the group had never encountered In the five years its conducted the invitational ride. And while it’s grown in that time from a peloton of about 16, riders are sent off at staggered times in small groups and quickly spread out. They’re also instructed to ride safely and obey traffic signals.
“We’re not a race. We’re not disrupting traffic.”
Mayor Meghan Lahti, who requested the issue be added to the agenda after she became aware of it, said charity events shouldn’t have their monetary efforts diminished by city fees. And while her fellow councillors concurred and heartily granted Sunday’s event a waiver, several councillors said such an exception should become a formal part of the permit procedures so there’s no further misunderstandings.
Moi agreed.
“For clearly a non-profit group or charity event, my goal would be that we wouldn’t have to go through council,” he said.
Pettyfer said his group is happy to work with the city for its future events, adding he’s appreciative how responsive staff and council were once they became aware of the issue. He said the TCCC has insurance through Cycling BC, as do any riders affiliated with clubs sanctioned by the sport’s provincial governing body.
“We had riders come from all over the Lower Mainland to enjoy and see what a beautiful community we live in,” Pettyfer said.
