What are the round dishes along the West Dyke Trail in Steveston

by John Stevens
(Burnaby, BC Canada)

What are the contraptions we see out on the mud flats by the dyke there are quite a number of them going north/south the are circular dishes on wood construction facing Vancouver Island. Can someone please tell me. Thank You.

Reply: Thanks for asking, John. Well, this baby took some digging, John. Here's the answer via Melissa Cheng.

"Dear Dave,

This question stumped our customer service group so we asked our business partners in the control tower for assistance. They provided the below response:

'Circular dishes are radar reflectors to mark the wood pilings. The pilings themselves mark the shoreline for marine traffic due to large distances of shallow water - depending on the tide. Aviation traffic (small VFR aircraft) use the markings to separate the north and south flow in reference the shoreline. Blame the tides and the long distance from water edge to the dyke at low tide, in the fog.'

I hope the above information is of assistance.

Best,

Melissa Cheng
Customer Relations Representative
VANCOUVER AIRPORT AUTHORITY
TEL: 604-207-7077 | FAX: 604.276.6599 | WWW.YVR.CA"