You can stop calling now — city crews have started plowing residential streets.
City administration started a second round of residential snow clearing late Tuesday. The city normally does just one clearing per winter.
The city finished its first round in late December, says acting public works director Dan Rites, and had almost finished removing its snow stockpiles last week when winter dumped about a month’s worth of snow on the city. Calls for snow removal poured into his office soon after.
It’s very rare for the city to do two residential clearings so close together, Rites says. “I’ve talked to some of the guys who have been here 15 to 20 years and they don’t ever remember the city doing back-to-back residential clearings.”
But the snow was so deep in some regions that residents couldn’t even get across the street without getting stuck, he says. “This was a lot of snow.”
Tests showed that residential snow levels were at or near the city’s snow clearing threshold, so city staff decided to do a second clearing.
This clearing will be very similar to the one done in December, Rites says. Crews will post signs before entering a region, and ask all residents to keep their cars parked off the roads when the signs go up.
It’s much colder out this time around, he notes, but that should help pack the snow. “This is a little bit on the harsh side, but we anticipate it not giving us any issues.”
Crews plan to start in Erin Ridge and finish in Mission, Rites says. It’s the same schedule that they used in December, except they’re starting four spots down the list.
Rites says he’s not sure when crews will be finished. “We don’t have an actual end date. It depends on how much snow we get.”
If there’s another big storm, they might have to stop clearing residential streets to work on arterials and St. Albert Trail.
Don’t expect those snow stockpiles to vanish anytime soon either. “We’re clearing, but we’re not necessarily hauling,” Rites says. The piles will be removed, but it could take a while.
Snow crews will work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Call public works at 780-459-1557 for details.
Snow schedule
City crews and contractors plan to clear snow from neighbourhoods in this order: Erin Ridge, Forest Lawn, Heritage Lakes, Lacombe Park, Lacombe Park Estates, Sturgeon, Braeside, Akinsdale, Oakmont, Deer Ridge, Grandin, Kingswood, Pineview, Woodlands, North Ridge, Mission.
