VANCSUR

Where we work

Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

Every city in the region designs to the same provincial standard — the BC Traffic Management Manual 2020 — and then runs its own permit process on top of it.

01Jurisdiction

Why the municipality matters

The drawing may be broadly similar from one city to the next, but who you file with, what they call the permit, what they’ll reject and how long they take are all different. Most of the value in local knowledge is knowing what gets sent back.

Exhibit 01Authority by road type
Road typeAuthorityPermit
Municipal streets, arterials, collectorsThe city’s traffic engineering departmentNamed differently in each municipality
Provincial highwaysMinistry of Transportation and InfrastructureMoTI process
Source: BC Traffic Management Manual 2020; municipal permit processes.
Some corridors change jurisdiction partway along. If your work sits near that boundary it’s worth checking before you file — a plan submitted to the wrong authority doesn’t bounce back quickly, it just sits.

02Coverage

Cities we’ve documented

CityPermit instrumentIssuing authority
SurreyTraffic Obstruction Permit (TOP)City of Surrey — Traffic Management Section

Working somewhere not listed? Ask. Our coverage is wider than the pages we’ve published — we publish a city page only once we can set out that municipality’s process accurately. A page that says “we work there too” helps nobody.

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