Highway planning

Municipalities hold title to most highways within their boundaries. The Government of British Columbia continues to have ownership and jurisdiction over highway (provincial) roads that are located within municipalities and has the right to resume the use of highways that are municipally owned for certain purposes.

The Community Charter defines highways as streets, roads, lanes, bridges, viaducts and any other ways open to public use other than private rights-of-way across private property. This includes, for example, sidewalks.

Ownership of most highways in a municipality is vested in (belongs to) the municipality, subject to the common law right of way (the right to use the property as a highway). In addition, the municipality has title to some highways that it does not own, giving it the right to maintain those roads. The Government of British Columbia has ownership and jurisdiction over most roads in non-municipal (rural) areas - for example, those roads in the electoral districts of regional ridings.