Addressing

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Emergency vehicles respond to a location marked with a green pin and address number 1234.

Rural areas and island communities often lack visible house number signage at the start of their driveway. This can lead to delay and confusion for emergency first responders. Help emergency responders locate your property by having your civic address clearly visible on your home or at the start of your driveway.

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) civic addressing information is shared with a large list of third parties including emergency agencies (RCMP, BC Ambulance, local firehalls and 9-1-1- dispatch) and others (BC Assessment, Land Titles Authority, Canada Post, BC Hydro, etc.).

A civic address is a unique identifier for occupied dwellings as assigned by a local authority to ensure consistency and sequencing of numbers based on existing addressing grids. A civic address consists of a number, sometimes with a unit number, and the official street name used as the primary access to the dwelling. The SRD issues civic addressing and works with the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation to establish accurate and sequential house numbering.

A civic address is not the same as a mailing address. Canada Post issues mailing addresses and while sometimes this aligns with a civic address, this is often not the case in rural areas. Additionally, civic addresses don’t have postal codes, while mailing addresses do. 

Addressing Guidelines

Here are some guidelines for making your address sign visible: 

  • Bigger = Better
  • Colour contrast = Visibility
  • Reflective material or lighting = Visible at night (when many emergencies happen)
  • Address visible from both travel directions 
  • Horizontal number are more legible than vertical (stacked) numbers
  • Ensure numbers are clear of obstructions (foliage/brush/trees)
  • Must be visible from the road (not in the bottom of a ditch... obviously...)
  • For properties with multiple access points or driveways, post signage on the driveway accessing the street referenced in your assigned address

Find Your Address 

Only your official civic address should be displayed. Before installing new signage, residents are encouraged to confirm their address. You can do this in two ways: 

For Regional Residents - not residents of the City of Campbell River

Use uMapIt

  1. Use the search in the top left  
  2. Select Address from drop-down
  3. Type in your address  
  4. Select the correct record and confirm location 

For City of Campbell River Residents 

Use the City's Webmap 
 

  1. Use the I Want To… menu in the top left off the map
  2. Select Search by Address
  3. Type in your street name, select your house number and hit Search 

Can’t find your address? 

Email SRD’s geographic information systems (GIS) staff at gis@srd.ca with the address number you use and ask them to confirm if it is an official civic address. Providing a PID or tax folio number may help their search.  

In some cases, your property may not have a civic address yet. In these cases, SRD’s GIS staff will provide information on how you can apply for and receive a new civic address. There are no direct costs for addressing requests. 

Assigning Civic Addresses

When you apply for a building permit through the SRD or property development begins, the GIS department assigns a civic address. This enables new power connections and ensures emergency agencies can find the property. The GIS department uses an existing regional addressing grid to ensure addressing is assigned based off of existing convention. Addressing follows best practices like even and odd numbers on opposite sides of the street and numbers sequentially increasing or decreasing.

Address Grid Maps 

Review the address grids the GIS department uses to assign civic addresses: