Clearing the streets of snow can be a touchy subject for many municipalities, and residents are often left with the impression not enough is being done.
In most municipalities, as in the Town of Westlock, there are clearly defined priorities and procedures when it comes to clearing the snow from municipal streets.
“I think most citizens are well aware that we have limited resources and the town crew does the best they can,” said deputy mayor Darrel Erickson, who brought the issue forward at council’s Jan. 10 meeting.
In light of the recent spate of heavy snowfalls and complaints from residents about the town’s snow clearing practices, council has moved ahead with a plan to make sure its snow clearing procedure is public knowledge.
“I had a suggestion from a citizen ratepayer that it might be helpful if we laid our plan out to the public,” Erickson said.
For example, town policy states that snow removal is to begin with either a single snowfall of 15 centimetres (six inches), or once there is an accumulated packed layer of 15 centimetres.
Once those requirements have been met, the town has four different levels of priority for clearing snow.
The first priority is to clear emergency routes. These are 99 Ave. by the Fire Hall, 106 Ave. by the ambulance bay, and the access road to the hospital.
The second priority is to clear the major roads in the downtown area, as well as some routes near the schools and any town-operated parking lots.
The third priority is to clear some of the higher-volume residential areas and highway service roads.
The fourth priority comprises everything else.
“We haven’t always cleared all the snow away as we do now, and I think overall, our people really appreciate that,” Erickson said.
The town will post signs indicating snow removal is about to begin within 24 hours of the graders hitting the streets.
The town’s policy also indicates that snow will be removed as required to ensure access on roadways.
A blade will only be used where snow removal, is not required, and snow will be stockpiled in such a way as to ensure access is not blocked, and to ensure piles aren’t so high as to block vehicles’ visibility.
“Our town guys do a good job. There’s limitations about how much they can work, but they’re there and they do a good job when they get at it,” Erickson said. “I just hope the snow stops soon. This is the most snow we’ve had in a long time. It’s a set of extraordinary circumstances and town staff are dealing with it as best they can.”
According to the Environment Canada weather forecast, the snow will let up this week, as will the cold weather. As of Sunday afternoon, the weekend projections show highs of about zero.
The town’s snow removal policy and map showing the priority in which the roads will be cleared has now been posted at www.westlock.ca and on Page 11 of this week’s News.
