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ALSO IN THIS SECTION
See how your street is designated for the purpose of snow removal.
Your snow and ice removal responsibilities.
We have answers to some often-asked questions about snow removal.
RELATED LINK
Make sure your garbage and recycling is seen and safe to retrieve when snow piles up.
Learn about the City's sidewalk safety and accessibility efforts.
DOWNLOADS
Read the complete Winter Control Plan.
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PDF 14KB]
You can download the "Watch Out for Snowplows" poster for your classroom.
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PDF 97KB]
Snow Removal On Streets
Winter control efforts — such as snow plowing and sanding or salting roads — begin as soon as it is practical after a weather event begins. When it starts to snow, plows start to go.
Every winter event is different and so the City's response to a winter event changes to reflect a variety of considerations, including:
- Public safety
- Emergency access routes
- Type of weather event
- Vehicle and pedestrian traffic expectations (often affected by the time of day and day of the week)
- Street parking requirements (and the capacity of parking lots)
- Availability of equipment and staff
- Snow storage capacity
The City's Public Works department anticipates and evaluates these factors and then assigns available crew and equipment to the variously designated streets.
To find out what the designation of your street is — and what that means about what winter control efforts you can expect — you can use the Snowplowing Designation Lookup tool.
When It Starts To Snow, Plows Start To Go
Generally, during and following a snowfall, plow trucks and sidewalk plows will go out. After the winter event, snow blowers, road graders and contracted trucks will all be used in snow clean-up operations.
Snow removal work is often carried out at night downtown when the "No Parking" ban is in effect. This work can require tow trucks to tow away parked cars, if necessary. Salt and/or sand is then applied to ensure safe driving conditions.
Snow is hauled to an approved snow disposal site.
Non-weather-related factors that impact winter control and snow removal efforts include:
- Adherence to the parking ban: Snow removal operations are hindered by parked cars, or conversely, facilitated with the implementation of the "No Parking" ban.
- The shape of streets: Cul-de-sacs and dead-ends with a short turning radius make it difficult for wing plows to manoeuvre. In these cases, an initial pass is made to allow traffic to access the area; streets are subsequently cleared with graders and loaders after the storm has abated.
