WATCH ABOVE: Temporary Pan Am Games HOV markers are already peeling off highways. Ministry of Transportation officials say they will be replaced ASAP and say recent wet weather is to blame. Lama Nicolas explains.
TORONTO – Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation is investigating reports of paint peeling off signs marking temporary high-occupancy vehicle lanes in the Toronto region that will be used for the Pan Am Games.
The lanes are being set up to help ease traffic congestion during the sporting event which will see thousands of athletes and visitors descend on the city and its surrounding areas.
Photographs from drivers on some portions of the Queen Elizabeth Way in the Toronto area show that paint has started to come off the white diamond patterns marking the lanes in certain areas.
A ministry spokesman says staff are “aware of the issue” and are checking into it.
The temporary high-occupancy vehicle lanes will be in place from June 29 to Aug. 18, from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., on all major routes into Toronto.
During the Pan Am Games the lanes will be limited to vehicles carrying three or more occupants, while for the Parapan Am Games, the lanes will be limited to vehicles carrying two or more passengers.
Organizers are counting on a 20 per cent drop in traffic in order to prevent significant delays on roads and highways linking the Games’ 16 host municipalities.
They are urging residents to carpool, take transit, cycle or walk during the Games, and are asking businesses to schedule deliveries at off-peak hours.
But critics have argued it’s unrealistic to expect residents to leave their cars at home, and predict the Toronto region will be paralyzed by gridlock.
The peeling highway signs are the latest in a series of Games-related hiccups.
Last month, Pan Am organizers had to replace thousands of shirts for Games volunteers after discovering the logos on them may wear away after washing.
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