rlolacher

It happens every year around this time. As spring kicks in, trees and shrubs start growing, and if they're left unchecked, they can quickly take over our roadsides. So we begin our annual routine of mowing, chopping and chipping to keep things clear. We're not just doing this for cosmetic reasons; it's about safety.

May is Car Care Month - time to show your vehicle some love!
It's been a long hard winter, on most British Columbians and their vehicles. Now is a great time to get outside, and check over your vehicle so you're both ready for the warmer months ahead.

You've seen concrete barriers and guard rails lining our highways, but cable barriers are also gaining in popularity. They look like a small fence, with lengths of wire rope strung between posts, but it's a lot stronger than one you'd see around the house.

Freshet can become a problem when winter snow packs melt rapidly, overwhelming stream channels and creating floods. Happily, freshet flooding can usually be forecasted by monitoring snow packs and weather, and examining stream capacity data.

This week, May 1 to 7, is Emergency Preparedness Week and we want to make sure that you are in the know. Because of British Columbiaâ€s mountains and coast lines, natural hazards such as avalanche, tsunami, earthquake, flood and landsides can happen. These hazards are obviously not in every part of the province but knowing which ones are common in your area will help you be better prepared.

Watch as the the Kinsol Trestle time-lapses closer to completion. The Kinsol Rehabilitation Project will give new life to the historic Kinsol Trestle, Canada's tallest wooden rail trestle, completing a key part of the Trans Canada Trail on Southern Vancouver Island. tranbc.ca [tranbc.ca]

B.C.'s mountains offer spectacular scenery, but they can also make building and maintaining our roads a lot more challenging. The British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure provides some information on how they minimize the risk of rock fall on the province's highways.

Learning to properly use the increasingly popular way to control traffic in British Columbia, the roundabout. A new one was constructed at the McTavish Interchange in Sidney by the Victoria Airport.