Environment Canada's snowfall warning for the Sunshine Coast remained in place Tuesday morning, with heavy wet snow causing traffic disruptions for commuters.
Sunshine Coast Transit said Route 1 and Route 90 are running from Trail Bay Centre in Sechelt to Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons with a shuttle in place at the mall to take people the rest of the way to the Langdale ferry terminal and back. The Route 1 bus has adjusted its route in Roberts Creek: it is going down Flume Road and up Joe Road to Highway 101. Routes 2, 3 and 4 are all operating.
Capilano Highways said its crews were out Monday night salting in preparation for the storm and were planning to continue to brine and spot salt as needed throughout the day; however, drivers coming off the first ferry from Horseshoe Bay experienced slippery road conditions. As of 10 a.m., vehicles, including several semi-trailer trucks, were stranded on the Langdale bypass heading up the hill toward Gibsons. Some vehicles, including one school bus, were forced to turn around and drive in the opposite direction to clear off the bypass.
“It’s a big turkey shoot,” said one driver, who was on the side of the road with his two-ton truck and trailer, which was hauling windows from Aldergrove. “I’m fully prepared but it would be nice to have four-wheel drive and a snow plow.” He was among the first drivers off the early morning ferry.
“Going up the hill, we were realizing things were starting to deteriorate but we were all in a big, big line and we just started sliding out.” He didn’t see any salt or sand on the road, or plows coming through the bypass.
Despite the snowy conditions, School District No. 46 said in the morning that buses were running as normal and all schools would be open. However, school buses stuck on roads as well as delays were reported and by the afternoon the school district had closed routes in Langdale and Garden Bay and adjusted the Sandy Hook/Tuwanek and Earls Cove routes. It also cancelled all evening events at its facilities.
Highway 101 was closed for about two hours at Trout Lake after a two-door car travelling south slid off the road and landed upside down in a ditch. RCMP said icy and slushy road conditions were “most likely a factor.” The driver was uninjured and his son, the only other passenger, was taken to hospital with a gash in his leg.
The Sechelt landfill has been closed due to snow accumulation on the road, as well as the Gibsons Recycling Depot.
The Town of Gibsons said access to Franklin Beach has been closed “due to land slippage occurring at a property located above the beach.”
According to the forecast, the Coast should expect “significant snow” possibly lasting into the evening, with total amounts of 10 to 20 cm.
“Anywhere from 5 to 20 cm of heavy, wet snow is expected… Warmer air will arrive faster over Sunshine Coast, East Vancouver Island, and the southwestern sections of Metro Vancouver and the transition to rain there will start this afternoon or evening,” says the warning, which was updated early Tuesday morning.
“The air will be cool, but not truly Arctic, so snowfall amounts will vary with proximity to the water, elevation and intensity of precipitation.”
The warning also says that drivers should prepare to adjust with changing road conditions. “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas.”
