Sometime after 4 in the morning on Monday, I became aware of a grader rumbling by my house. Sometime later, the sound of the sidewalk plow made an impression on me.
When I finally was ready to go out shortly after 6:30 a.m., I was not wrong. Both had been by in the early hours of the morning.
Alas, by the time I got outside, two inches of snow already had covered over the path of the sidewalk plow and even more snow had created soft lines over the bank in the driveway.
So Monday morning was a snow blower day for me–and it took almost an hour to clean the driveway and my sidewalks and to clear the snow that I inadvertently had blown back on to the sidewalk.
But getting back to the town crews, I really appreciate their efforts during every snowstorm. They begin often just after 10 o’clock at night and go through to early morning, when a second crew changes out driving the graders, two sidewalk plows, and the trucks with plows on them.
While we lie comfortably in our beds, the crews are doing battle with the snowy weather.
We might complain that not all the streets are cleared of snow by the time we head to work, but the major arteries are open to travel and the collector streets also are being cleaned.
The town has a plan and in a snow emergency, they have a defined time to have all the streets and sidewalks cleared.
The snow on Monday was expected to continue through to evening and many of those streets initially cleared already were requiring a second plowing. The same with sidewalks and then the town was going to begin clearing the alleyways of the community.
Most people fail to know that the Town of Fort Frances, in fact, has more miles of snow clearing than does the province.
And should you compare the highway conditions with the town street conditions, snow plow operators in Fort Frances often have to dodge around vehicles parked on streets, heed traffic lights and stop signs, need to circle blocks, and then stuff the snow into the banks.
Highway plows just keep rolling along in a straight line moving at 40-50 km/h. It is no wonder why highways appear in much better shape.
The snow clearing crews are unheralded but keep our streets open under the worst of conditions. I salute them.