Quick question before you continue reading: do you know where the City of Duncan ends and the Municipality of North Cowichan begins? Do you care?

Some people certainly do.

North CowichanB次元官网网址檚 council is sending a letter to the neighbouring City of Duncan requesting some of their gateway "Welcome to Duncan" signs be removed.

Turns out that three of those signs are actually within North CowichanB次元官网网址檚 boundaries.

The decision was made at North CowichanB次元官网网址檚 council meeting last month after a discussion on how the municipality intends to move forward with plans to update its own gateway and municipal hall highway signs.

North Cowichan says DuncanB次元官网网址檚 gateway signs near the southbound lane of the Trans-Canada Highway north of Beverly Street, at the roundabout close to Cowichan District Hospital, and near the Silver Bridge facing northbound traffic on the TCH are in North Cowichan and causing confusion for many people.

North Cowichan Coun. Mike Caljouw, a member of the Duncan Tourism Advisory Committee, said the City of Duncan decided in August to install a new primary gateway sign to replace the one near the Silver Bridge, at a cost of up to $22,000 plus taxes.

B次元官网网址淚 was the only one who voted against the committeeB次元官网网址檚 motion to renew the sign and I just know that this is not going to land well with the city (of Duncan) and the residents there,B次元官网网址� Caljouw said. B次元官网网址淧ersonally, I was thinking of just the (City of DuncanB次元官网网址檚 gateway) sign north of town (which is located two kilometres north of Duncan in North CowichanB次元官网网址檚 jurisdiction).B次元官网网址�

North Cowichan wants to have more prominent signs on the municipalityB次元官网网址檚 northern and southern boundaries on the TCH to, among other reasons, help give people a better sense of where North Cowichan begins and ends. Council decided at a meeting in July to hire Lanarc Consultants to help identify locations, scale, style, and options for materials and design for new gateway and municipal hall signs. Lanarc recommended more than $500,000 in signage projects that would be completed over a number of years, if council agrees to move forward with them.

North Cowichan Coun. Christopher Justice said Duncan doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a highway presence and itB次元官网网址檚 important for the city to give people on the TCH, or whatever direction they are approaching from, directions to Duncan. He said the problem is that the current location of DuncanB次元官网网址檚 gateway signs make it seem to visitors that they are already in Duncan when they see them.

B次元官网网址淪o instead of asking (the city) to remove them, we should be asking them to refurbish or redesign them in such a way that itB次元官网网址檚 very clear that the signs are pointing to the way people should go if they want to get to Duncan. I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 want them to lose their directional signs.B次元官网网址�

North Cowichan agreed to send the letter to the City of Duncan, with Justice opposed. Council will discuss its own signage options further during upcoming budget discussions.

The sprawling municipality of North Cowichan is home to about 32,000 people. It runs roughly from the northern bank of the Cowichan River north to and including Chemainus and includes much of what many less-invested people driving along the Island Highway might consider Duncan.

The City of Duncan is approximately one square mile, also roughly bordered by the river (and by Cowichan Tribes reserve lands) to the south and is mostly surrounded by North Cowichan on its other three sides. It is home to roughly 5,000 people.

Immediately south of the river along the highway is more reserve land and non-municipal land governed by the Cowichan Valley Regional District.

B次元官网网址� with a file from John McKinley