Staff
No changes will be made to the winter control policy for snow removal in the downtown core.
The issue has been a hot topic over the years, and recently reviewed yet again by the Operations and Facilities executive committee after a request from local resident Carole Mackintosh to remove snowbanks from Scott Street when the streets were plowed.
But the committee determined that, in order to remove those snowbanks concurrently with plowing operations, the town would not be able to clear other priority areas within the timeframe permitted under the Winter Control Policy and Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways (Ontario Regulation 239/02).
In a report from Operations and Facilities manager Travis Rob, he noted that under the minimum maintenance standards, the removal of snow from the travelled portion of the roadway must be completed within a certain time period depending on the roadway class.
“For Scott Street, the driving lanes must be cleared within 12 hours of the end of the storm once the accumulation exceeds eight cm [three inches],” he wrote.
“There is no requirement to clear the parking lanes or banks under the minimum maintenance standards.”
The town’s winter control policy sets out that the downtown area is a priority route and, as a result, is the first section to be plowed, Rob said.
But under section 4.02 of the policy, the banks downtown will be removed after they have reached a height of 24 inches and plowing of the remaining sections of town are completed and resources are available, he added.
Rob also noted snow removal will take place after regular business hours.
For the removal of the snowbanks off of Scott Street to occur concurrently with the plowing operation in a timely manner after business hours would require a grader, loader, and two trucks to complete, he explained.
“This would only leave one other grader or plow truck to plow the remaining town as it takes a full shift to get the downtown core cleaned up,” Rob stressed.
“This would likely put us in non-compliance as other priority routes would not be able to be cleared in the times stipulated in the Minimum Maintenance Standards”.
Rob said according to the town’s sidewalk snow removal bylaw, it is the responsibility of the property owners to remove the snow from their sidewalks. On Scott Street, that snow is deposited at the curb.
“Therefore, the following night, the crew would have to return to the downtown to remove the snow deposited at the curb by the store owners shovelling the sidewalks in front of their stores,” he noted.
“This would double the time it currently takes us to clean the downtown core after a snow event, pulling our crew away from other tasks, such as plowing secondary roads, dead ends, cul-du-sacs, and lanes unless there was a substantial increase in crew size and additional equipment purchased for snow removal,” he explained.
Council agreed Monday night that no changes be made to the winter control policy for snow removal in the downtown core, but did agree that a letter be sent to downtown property owners reminding them of their responsibilities regarding snow removal.
The town also will review its bylaw regarding removing snow on sidewalks.
