Snow Clearing and Removal | Discussion

[Medwards]

^ didn't the city use to do this? I know Sherwood Park and St. Albert still do...

[Barry N]

I know they do it in the spring when they are sweeping streets. I don't recall it being done for snow clearing.

[Titanium48]

Originally Posted by Edmonton PRT

I believe there is a bylaw that prevents private companies being hired to clean your street. A few years back, some neighbours who owned a bobcat cleared some streets by they got a fine from bylaw. I guess it is to prevent heavy equipment from damaging the street and curbs.

They fine you for doing their job for them? And since when is a bobcat "heavy equipment"?

[Edmonton PRT]

Have a Bobcat drive over your foot and you would call it heavy equipment. Bobcats can do damage to curbs and such. I think the fine was $250 if I remember it right.

[Edmonton PRT]

Originally Posted by Barry N

I know they do it in the spring when they are sweeping streets. I don't recall it being done for snow clearing.

In winter it is called a snow route ban and it only applies to bus routes and major streets.

[etownboarder]

They should do a temporary system wide snow ban for all residential streets in certain areas of the city... maybe based on civic election wards. So for two days, any car parked on the streets in the designated wards would be tagged, towed and then fined.

[Jets]

Lol...serious? So I'm supposed to park in Mill Woods and walk an hour to get home, just so they can clear snow?

[Old Dawg]

They did our street last week and the lout next door to me parked his car on the street (as usual- his garage is brim full of crap).
Guess what, I now have a windrow in the middle of the street to deal with.
Arrrrgggghhh!

[etownboarder]

Originally Posted by Jets

Lol...serious? So I'm supposed to park in Mill Woods and walk an hour to get home, just so they can clear snow?

It would only be in effect between the hours of say 8:30-5 or something like that.

[Jets]

Oh, so only people working shift work (like I do) would have to walk an hour then. An all out ban just won't work. You'd have do half the street at a time, or at the worst ban parking on all Streets one day and Avenues the next. Although some neighboorhoods aren't set up in a perfect grid so this wouldn't work out either. There's just no simple solution, but I believe the street sweepers already have a system in place, so you could probably duplicate whatever they do (and modify if needed).

[etownboarder]

Originally Posted by Jets

Oh, so only people working shift work (like I do) would have to walk an hour then. An all out ban just won't work. You'd have do half the street at a time, or at the worst ban parking on all Streets one day and Avenues the next. Although some neighboorhoods aren't set up in a perfect grid so this wouldn't work out either. There's just no simple solution, but I believe the street sweepers already have a system in place, so you could probably duplicate whatever they do (and modify if needed).

Yes, and it works like this:

Signs are set up the ends of all roads into/out of a neighborhood. The signs read something like this: "No street parking between 8am-5pm during the 2nd week of May."

So yea, pretty much exactly what I just suggested.

[Jets]

Except that they don't ban ALL roads in the area, only some, allowing people to park their car at the end of the block on the cross street.

The other issue is that street sweeping is done over 1 month or more, in winter by the time you get all the roads done who knows how much it's going to snow/melt. Yes, it could still be done, but I would question how much time / money / effort is put into this unless the roads really bad. Right now my side street is a bit mushy, but not unbearable.

[etownboarder]

Originally Posted by Jets

Except that they don't ban ALL roads in the area, only some, allowing people to park their car at the end of the block on the cross street.

Not in Windsor Park.

[JJMorrocco]

How have we survived for the past 100 years in this city with out regular plowing of roads? As I recall winters were a lot worse with more snow back in the day.

I have a couple theories - roads were wider, and straighter - a look at new communiteis and you can barely fit a single vehicle let alone two on the same street and everyone lives in a cul-de sac with no place for the snow.

[Blueline]

plow em !!
I can barely get my ford f650 off my front lawn as it is

[etownboarder]

They plowed our alley, yet again, but the roads still haven't been touched... in one of the neighborhoods paying some of the highest taxes in the entire city, I expect better. Hey, City of Edmonton... you FAIL!!!!

[Doug]

Was in St. Albert last night and all their residential roads are plowed. Sure was nice driving, then I came back to my place in the city and felt like I was going off road getting into my crescent. Is if any wonder many young families are making the choice to live in the surrounding communities?

[Hilman]

Double the property taxes might alter their decision?

[Doug]

But there is Sherwood Park and Beaumont that also have there residential streets done and they are not paying any more than we are. St. Albert is growing at a rapid rate so the higher taxes don't seem to be hurting them.

[Hilman]

Do you honestly think a person is going to move from Edmonton to Sherwood Park if their roads are perceived to look better in the winter? Really, really? That would be factor number 1,789 on my list for where I chose to live.

[Edmonton PRT]

Originally Posted by etownboarder

They plowed our alley, yet again, but the roads still haven't been touched... in one of the neighborhoods paying some of the highest taxes in the entire city, I expect better. Hey, City of Edmonton... you FAIL!!!!

They have plowed the alley four times since Christmas in my neighbourhood, each time the day before the garbage truck comes. They did ours last night even though we have no significant snow recently.

I don't remember another winter where they have plowed the alleys so frequently.

[Doug]

Hilman, it called SERVICES and people are moving to bedroom communities because they offer much better services than Edmonton does, from snow removal to grass cutting. It's all about getting value for your tax dollar. Many of my family and friends live in St. Albert or Sherwood Park and most feel they get far better value for their tax money. Snow removal is one part of it.

[Medwards]

Its a fallacy anyways, that more and more family are moving to the surrounding communities. Sure, people are moving out there, but it's not like Edmonton is stale or decreasing, gaining over 30,000 people in one year, thats like growing half of sherwood park in one year!

[blainehamilton]

All Red Deer residental streets were fully graded and cleared last week. It was rut and loose pack city one night, and totally cleared the next morning.

Oh, and they had signs out 2 days beforehand indicating not to park there.

If 5-15cm of snow falls over the next 3 days like what is forecast, things are going to get really bad, really quickly. All it takes is one story of a Fire Truck, Ambulance or Police Car stuck trying to get to an emergency to hit the front page of the newspaper, and this matter could turn into a publicity nightmare for the city...

[Edmonton PRT]

Originally Posted by Medwards

Its a fallacy anyways, that more and more family are moving to the surrounding communities. Sure, people are moving out there, but it's not like Edmonton is stale or decreasing, gaining over 30,000 people in one year, thats like growing half of sherwood park in one year!

Source please. According to the Census, the population of Edmonton grew much more slowly that you say.

2000 658,400 +10,116
2001 666,104 +7,704
2002 677,430 +11,326
2003 688,940 +11,510
2004 700,660 +11,720
2005 712,391 +11,731
2006 730,372 +17,981

[Doug]

Medwards, I'm not sure how many young people between the ages of 20 and 25 are in your family but we have 8 that are newly married and beginning a new life of their own. Not one of them has bought or will consider buying a home in Edmonton. All but 1 has stayed in the immediate area but all the others have chosen Sherwood Park or St. Albert. The overwhelming reason is better services and nicer neighbourhoods in those communities.

[Medwards]

The 2009 Census is now complete. Thank you to all who participated.

Edmonton's official population was 782,439 on April 1, 2009, an increase of 30,027 since last year.


http://www.edmonton.ca/city_governme...al-census.aspx

[Hilman]

Originally Posted by Doug

Medwards, I'm not sure how many young people between the ages of 20 and 25 are in your family but we have 8 that are newly married and beginning a new life of their own. Not one of them has bought or will consider buying a home in Edmonton. All but 1 has stayed in the immediate area but all the others have chosen Sherwood Park or St. Albert. The overwhelming reason is better services and nicer neighbourhoods in those communities.

The old "the services are better" shtick hey? Can you please elaborate for us on those services? Nicer neighborhoods? Plop me down in Magrath, Sherwood Park, Rutherford, Summerside, etc and you wouldn't have a clue what city/suburb you were in, nice try.

I bet it would go something like this:

Yes, we have a small town life that is safe and provides everything the city folks have.

We have top notch policing, fire and rescue with premium Health Services for one ...........wait a minute, where is the hospital out in Sherwood Park? You mean there is no place to go when I am sick or seriously hurt and 70,000 people live in the county?

Well I never get sick, at least work is close............oh that isn't right either, most people work outside of the hamlet and need to commute.

Well at least when I am not working there is lots to do in Sherwood Park...... You mean I have to drive 20 km just to go to catch a show at the Winspear/Citadel, go to the AGA, Jubilee, Oiler/Eskimo game, etc and there is no reliable public transportation to get there? The last bus from downtown Edmonton leaves at 11:30 pm and runs every 60 minutes??

Its safer for my kids at least.....yes, the small town kids never get into trouble......what is going to happen when they need to go to college/university???? There is no University of Sherwood Park you say, no other post secondary institutions either you say..........

They have a state of the art disposal service at my door, all my garbage is recycled/composted, think of the good in that.......so all they do is pick it up and send it to the City of Edmonton's world leading waste management centre (EWMCE) where North Americas largest composter is and new bio fuels plant is located and 90% of waste is diverted from the landfill? Hmmmm.......

Well at least my roads are cleared during the winter so I can drive to the city and go to work/play.

[Doug]

Hilman, I'm just stating what I know to be true with my immediate family and friends. I am a big supporter of this city and have lived here most of my life but there are very few supporters in my circle. The #1 reason given is the lack of services and the fact you get a "small town feel" in those communities. Yes they all work in the city and enjoy the benefits that we do but they have no intention of moving back to the city. It's all about quality of life and when you drive on rutted snow bound residential streets for 4 months of the year that does play a factor in your decision. Like it or not.

[JJMorrocco]

Originally Posted by Doug

Hilman, I'm just stating what I know to be true with my immediate family and friends. I am a big supporter of this city and have lived here most of my life but there are very few supporters in my circle. The #1 reason given is the lack of services and the fact you get a "small town feel" in those communities. Yes they all work in the city and enjoy the benefits that we do but they have no intention of moving back to the city. It's all about quality of life and when you drive on rutted snow bound residential streets for 4 months of the year that does play a factor in your decision. Like it or not.

It's all about perception. "What are my friends and relatives doing and how can I be equal or better than them." I bet if they could afford one of the high end neighbourhoods in the city they would take it.
Don't worry in about 10 years it will be all one big happy city!

[Doug]

If I were to count family, friends, my co-workers and my wife co-workers 60-70% of them live in one of our surrounding communities. Edmonton does have wonderful neighbourhoods but there is lots of competition out there. We need to stay competitive. Good services is a big part of the package.

[JJMorrocco]

Doug - What areas would you say the city is not competitive in? Besides road clearing?

As a side note my in-laws live in the park - my wife and I hate their snow clearing and lack of sand, and my -in laws always comment on how accessible and sanded the roads in our area are.

[Edmonton PRT]

Don't move to Calgary...


Blowing snow in early December left this road in Castleridge impassable. (Submitted by Glen Little)


City hall is setting aside up to $10 million extra for snow removal, with the goal of keeping snow on residential streets no deeper than 12 centimetres.
Faced with complaints about snowplowing following fierce December snow storms two years in a row, officials unveiled an interim snow policy on Monday and earmarked millions from the fiscal stability reserve to plow more residential roads.
Within the current budget of $23 million, there is only enough cash to cover about 7,000 kilometres, or less than half, of Calgary's roads. The $10 million top-up will help road crews reach many of the rest.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...#ixzz0eKhuGFKI





City looks at beefing up snow removal

Officials are re-examining the city's snow removal policy after receiving innumerable complaints from members of the public about road conditions in residential areas.
Currently, plow trucks are sent out to shave off ruts and maintain a snow pack of 10 cm or less on residential roadways, leaving snow windrows on the sides of the streets. Forty plows were sent out last week and cleared about 1,700 km of roadway in several days.
The city's roadway maintenance branch will now send trucks into residential areas on a more regular basis to try to shave the street snow packs down, ideally to 5 cm, and make the windrows more manageable.
<snip>
The city has a $49 million snow removal budget this year. So far this winter, Edmonton has seen about 66 cm of snow.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmo.../12620736.html

[Doug]

JJMorrocco, Snow removal is the one service that you notice right away but over the last few years services like grass cutting, boulevard maintenance and spring cleanup have suffered. Many years we have to wait until mid or near the end of June before all of our streets are done. In the outlying community they are done much quicker because of the size of their communities. Many of our sporting fields are in terrible condition and see very little, if any, maintenance. Our city does many things well and offers much more than the outlying communities however we do need to take care of the "little things" better than we are currently doing. I believe, snow removal is something we need to do a better job of.

[etownboarder]

I'm still waiting to see if our residential streets in Windsor Park (around the U of A) get plowed. We see lots of traffic with people taking shortcuts and trying to navigate through the traffic, save time, etc. It's messy. I'm not sure why the suburbs in Edmonton seem to get better services. BF's neighbourhood roads in Millwoods have all been plowed. Now that it's snowed again, cars are regularly getting stuck.

[JJMorrocco]

In my opinion the city does a pretty good job of those 'little things' as compared to Sh PK or Beaumont (two communities I regualry visit) Our true sports parks Gold Bar, John Fry etc are all equal to Strathcona Athletic Park or Century Park. Our recreation parks including the entire river valley is kept in very good condition comparable to Festival Place??. Our school level fields and parks while not as heavily used are in decent shape and I would say better than the outlying communities (likely due to less use).

As for snow removal - yes they clear faster but they have less urban roads. When all the jobs and services are in the city everyone commutes to the city = more traffic on our roads and more to clean-up the same will apply with potholes in the spring.

[Doug]

Overall I agree with you, we do a decent job however I think we can still do it better. With snow removal from residential streets, I would like to see it done once every winter similiar to the spring cleanup. Begin in mid January and place signs in advance of the cleaning. In areas where the snow can be pushed onto boulevards it provides moisture for the trees and where it can't be moved you remove it. The city needs to look at this issue because it is a sore spot for many taxpayers.

Look at what they have done in the last few years regarding repaving many of our streets. The condition of our roads has improved greatly over the last couple of years. Improvements can be made and should be constantly looked at.

[JJMorrocco]

Yes I agree with you there is always room for improvement and the once a season snow removal might work. The plowing and removal directly to trucks is a much better option this way you only move the snow once and have less plows on the road. Moving it to boulevards makes more work for spring cleanup as the sand ends up on the grass

[Old Dawg]

I'm not certain that pushing the snow around in big circles is really getting at the problem facing the taxpayers.
Could that snow be trucked to valley properties for recreational uses such as snow trails and ski slopes?
It's definitely free and who knows, maybe another winter venue could spawn from the new direction.

.................Hot dawgs, oiler tickets, sandwiches!!

[Doug]

I agree with you JJMorrocco. The best case scenerio is it all gets removed.

[sundance]

Ran into this on the City of Winnipeg's site, not only do they remove the snow, but they clear the sidewalks too, PLUS let people know when they will be doing this.
http://winnipeg.ca/cao/media/news/nr...20100122.stm#1

[Edmonton PRT]

Packing my bags and leaving town tonight, Portage and Main, here I come!

[Medwards]

^ don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[RTA]

^^ Given that there's no residential buildings on Portage and Main, does this mean you're going vagabond on us?

[Titanium48]

Originally Posted by City of Winnipeg

Residential streets highlighted in red indicate that overnight plowing has been scheduled for these streets. The Residential Overnight Parking Ban that restricts parking between midnight and 6 a.m. will be enforced by the Winnipeg Parking Authority on these streets until the plowing is completed.

The plowing schedule and information site are great ideas, but plowing residential streets between midnight and 6:00 am is crazy. Plow residential areas during the day when most of the cars normally parked there are elsewhere and the noise won't wake up the neighborhood.

[Doug]

I was speaking with a supervisor with Roadways today and he provided the following information:
1. Due to our current temperatures the city is using 94% sand and 6% salt on the roads.
2. The major roads must be sanded every two hours during snowfall.
3. The windrows will NOT be removed from any of the residential bus routes this year (causing a slight delay in the spring clean up).
4. The snow removal budget was reduced during the last budget process resulting in a reduction of services. (not picking up the windrows and not paying the retaining fee for the privately owned graders)

He did agree that the amount of sand they are currently using causes this city to be extremely dirty for a significant portion of the year.

Observation driving throughout the city today: The Whitemud was wet and free of brown sludge and sand and yet every other road in this city (including the downtown core) was filled with brown sludge and sand. If the Whitemed came be reasonably clean and wet why can't the rest of our main streets?

[Edmonton PRT]

Originally Posted by Doug

2. The major roads must be sanded every two hours during snowfall.

That does not make any sense, or maybe it does explain everything.

On Sunday it snowed from at least 2:00 am and light snow fell at least until 3 pm. That's 13 hours / 2 = at least six times that the roads get sanded. If they follow the policy blindly, it does not matter if it snowed 3 cm or 30 cm, it has to be sanded 6 times. No mention of plowing major streets. As I mentioned on the other thread, on Monday they plow the brown mess to the side and sand several more times on Tuesday, Wednesday and today.

[Doug]

I think it does explain why so much sand is on these roads. If the temperature warms to zero and it snows he told me they use a 50/50 mixture of sand and salt. The problem with the current mixture is that the sludge does not melt and is not taken away, it just sits there. Why isn't a higher consentration of salt used downtown? At least the streets would melt and it wouldn't look like such a mess to our out of town visitors and business people.

[Barry N]

West End update:

They are 're-blading' the streets in the West end. The trucks came down my street and took another 3"-4" off the top. Still ruts,but not as deep.

[Old Dawg]

Thought you may find this site interesting:
http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow/index.htm

[Edmonton PRT]

Originally Posted by Old Dawg

I'm not certain that pushing the snow around in big circles is really getting at the problem facing the taxpayers.
Could that snow be trucked to valley properties for recreational uses such as snow trails and ski slopes?
It's definitely free and who knows, maybe another winter venue could spawn from the new direction.

.................Hot dawgs, oiler tickets, sandwiches!!

Nope. The snow from our streets is too contaminated from sand, salt and litter. The dumped snow would kill anything on the ground where it is deposited. The city closed several of its snow dumping areas over the years and had to build special containment areas to prevent runoff into streams and prevent ground contamination. We used to dump our snow in the river a few decades ago but had to stop that practice too.

[Old Dawg]

Originally Posted by Edmonton PRT

Nope. The snow from our streets is too contaminated from sand, salt and litter. The dumped snow would kill anything on the ground where it is deposited. The city closed several of its snow dumping areas over the years and had to build special containment areas to prevent runoff into streams and prevent ground contamination. We used to dump our snow in the river a few decades ago but had to stop that practice too.

PRT, I was thinking of residential snow that does not get the sand/salt treatment that is used on the main thoroughfares.
As you mention, the salts themselves become a problem as they either leach into the river via the storm sewers in spring or present a contamiment problem at designated sites.
With environmental awareness on the increase I doubt the salts as applied here and othe cities will pass scrutiny as fresh water resources dwindle.

[Medwards]

Here is the COE Winter Road Maintenance Policy.

TITLE: Winter Road Maintenance Program
Policy Statement: Ensure that roadways are maintained in such a manner as to minimize economic loss to the community, prevent or reduce accident and injury, and facilitate the handling of emergencies by the emergency responders and police services.
The purpose of this policy is to set winter snow & ice control standards to provide road safety while protecting the environment.
Policy Statements:

Winter Maintenance Programs (within city limits)

Roadway Sanding:
Crews will be on duty at all times from mid October to mid April to provide sand/salt mixture to meet weather conditions.

Roadway Plowing:
Plow snow from all arterial and bus routes within 48 hours following the end of a storm to achieve bare pavement.
Plow snow as required from roadways (other than arterial roadways and bus routes) carrying in excess of 1500 vehicles per day, roadways abutting schools, emergency access routes, and roadways abutting property zoned RF5-RA9 inclusive.

Residential Plowing:
When rutting or snow drifting occurs residential roadways (with less than 1500 vehicle movements per day) will be bladed to maintain a level, snow packed condition only.
A city-wide plowing program will be undertaken when snow pack depth exceeds 10 cm in driving lanes; not intended to be a bare pavement service.
Service level will include up to three plowing cycles per winter.
·4 Service level will only involve the plowing of snow. Windrows left behind will be the responsibility of the adjacent property owner.



Snow will not be hauled away.
Notification of residential plowing will be announced through the media. A parking ban will not be used.
Plowing to bare pavement on residential roads may be initiated at the discretion of the City Manager. Bare pavement shall include:
o All driveways, crosswalks and corners will be opened.
o Where windrows of snow are created they will not be hauled away.
o In cul de sacs snow will be stacked in the centre and hauled away.
o Alleys are not covered under city-wide bare pavement policy


Alley Plowing:
Bladed to maintain 10 cm snow pack.
Snow will not be hauled away.

Snow Removal:
Remove snow from business districts as required.
Remove snow from arterial roadways and bus routes when the driving width or parking area restricts safe vehicular movement.
Remove snow as required from roadways (other than arterial roadways and bus routes) carrying in excess of 1500 vehicles per day, roadways abutting RA9 when the driving width or parking area restricts safe vehicular movement.

Sidewalks:
Plow snow from sidewalks adjacent to city owned land within 48 hours to meet the requirement of Bylaw 5590, Section 801.
Snow will not be hauled away.

Snow Storage Site Management:
Snow removed from arterial roads, bus routes, and private parking lots must be hauled to snow storage sites to meet Environment Canada and Alberta Environment guidelines and Codes of Practice outlined in the Salt Management Plan.

Spring Clean-Up:
Annual removal of all street sand from entire paved road system placed during winter months. Street sweepings must be disposed to meet environmental guidelines set by Alberta Environment.

Street Sanding Recycling:
All street sand collected shall be washed and recycled for re-use.

Salt Management Plan:
Report to both Alberta Environment and Environment Canada annually on road salt usage and road salt management. Meet Codes of Practice established by Transportation Association of Canada and adopted by Environment Canada.

Roadway Priority Hierarchy

Priority I
River valley hills, all bridges, grade separations, freeways.
Business Areas: C.B.D. (City Business Districts – Central, Southwest, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast)

Priority 2
Arterial Roadways

Priority 3
Collector I Roadways

Priority 4
Collector II Roadways

Priority 5
Rural Roadways:
Priority 6
Residential
Alleys
















DEFINITIONS

1.01 Arterial Roadways and Bus Routes – as routes shown as snow plowing and removal priorities in the Edmonton Snow Route Guide. All routes are permanently signed under the authority of the City of Edmonton Traffic Bylaw 5590 Section 614.

1.02 As Required – as a statement that service will not be limited to a preplanned number of work occurrences per year. It allows operating forces to apply field judgment and expertise to varying weather conditions.

1.03 Bare Pavement – condition refers to a snow free condition in the driving lanes of roadways. Bare pavement shall be not more than 2 cm of snow cover on the roadway surface.

1.04 Blade Snow – Light blading of snow or compacted snow and ice to make roadways passable or to level ruts.

1.05 Collector I – This category of roadway carries vehicles between Arterial and Residential roadways. It may be divided and have more than two travel lanes with full access to adjacent properties.

1.06 Collector II – Designated bus route through a residential area.

1.07 Emergency Access Routes – as defined by Roadways Maintenance Section, roads providing access from arterial, collector roadways or bus routes to a hospital, auxiliary hospital, nursing home, ambulance centre, police station, or fire station.

1.08 Plow Snow – pushing accumulated snow from the roadways surface either to the sides of the roadway or the centre of the roadway in order to maintain no less than one vehicle lane in each direction.

1.09 Properties Zone RF5-RA9 – are streets where sufficient development in these property-use classes has occurred but not meant to service isolated blocks where vehicle volumes are low.

1.10 Residential Streets – as streets or designed portions thereof abutting by sites four fifths of which are occupied by residential buildings only and non of which are occupied by industrial buildings.

1.11 Road Salt – all de-icing agents that promote the melting of snow and/or ice.

1.12 Rural Road – Roadways on which no development or improvement has been made, e.g.: oiled or gravel roads.

1.13 Rutting – troughs in compacted snow and ice which make the maneuvering of a vehicle dangerous. Ruts will usually be 10 cm in depth before this condition warrants blading.

1.14 Sanding – The application of abrasive materials and road salt to roadways by calibrated mechanical spreaders. To improve vehicle traction and promote safe traffic flow.

1.15 Snow Drifting – as the deposit of wind blown snow on roadways or lanes which makes the passage of vehicle traffic impossible.

1.16 Snow Removal – the complete removal of windrowed snow from established routes to a snow storage site.

1.17 Snow Route Ban – A ban on all parking on designated roadways for a period of 72 hours after a declaration of Snow Route (No Parking) Ban is made by the Manager of Traffic Operations of his designate.

1.18 Spring Clean-Up – street sweeping and flushing of all paved roadways and alleys.

2. PROCEDURES

2.01 The General Manager of Transportation to:

authorize the instructions or specifications necessary to properly implement the Policy of City Council and to approve any changes in those instructions upon direction of City Council.
Exercise control of the staff of the Transportation Department directing such assistance as may be required to the Roadway Maintenance Section during snow related emergencies. Will act as liaison with City Council.
Detailed instructions necessary to properly implement this policy are contained in the ”Snow and Ice Control Manual” and “Salt Management Plan” as approved by the General Manager of the Transportation Department for the direction of all employees and equipment concerned.

[etownboarder]

My bfs neighborhood was done... AGAIN. He lives in Millwoods, not even anywhere near a main street (in fact, he lives in a crescent). We're still waiting for the plows to come through Windsor Park.

[Doug]

I will be putting in a call to my counselor tomorrow to see why this is happening. I have noticed many discrepencies like that throughout the city. I encourage everyone to do the same.

[etownboarder]

Windsor Park was done overnight... done poorly, yes, but it was finally done. Honestly, other than clearing some of the built up snow on the one side of the street where parking is restricted, the ruts are just as bad as they were before the plow came through. EPIC FAIL!!!

[Barry N]

No consistency around my neighbourhood. Some residential streets were done down to the pavement,while others where hardly touched.

[etownboarder]

Ours was hardly touched. Why can't the city get their act together??? Like I said, EPIC FAIL!!!

[Doug]

It is because our snow removal in residential neighbourhoods is based on complaints. The neighbourhood that yells the loudest and files the most complaints gets the snow removed. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE way for the city to do business.

[Blueline]

westmount done at 3 AM today
Richard Cranium that owns "that frickin truck" came out and moved his heap to our side of the street so we now have a heap of snow and his place was cleaned to the curb !
Wait for the sound of that same heap being buried in snow blower residue this evening

[Titanium48]

Round 3 of plowing for my street this year. They do seem to be getting better, the truck got to within 30 cm of the curb this time instead of 50 cm and there's actually a few patches of bare pavement. Put the blade 2 cm lower and drive a little closer to the curb and I might actually call it a good job.

[etownboarder]

Snow removal Edmontonians’ No. 1 concern
City wants to add $800,000 to $44M budget
BY GORDON KENT, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COMAPRIL 30, 2010 1:02 PM

EDMONTON — The city wants to spend an extra $800,000 next year to improve residential road plowing after more than 1,000 Edmontonians said they weren’t happy with the current system.

Officials want to blade neighbourhood streets down to a five-centimetre snowpack once major thoroughfares are cleared, according to a new report.

The current policy is to run up to three residential plowing cycles each winter, leaving a 10-centimetre base, but this created slush during January’s thaw that made travel difficult, roadway maintenance director Bob Dunford said Friday.

Later in the season workers kept the snow buildup around five centimetres, which led to major improvements, he said.

“This spring when we had our thaw, we had no mobility problems as a result,” he said.

Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/...#ixzz0mc36ZNE9

[Titanium48]

They need to throw schedules and arbitrary amounts of snow left on the road out the window and simply be prepared to deal with what nature dishes out. Residential roads can remain in good winter condition for months despite accumulating more than 5 cm of packed snow, but even less than 5 cm can still make a lot of brown sludge under the right (wrong) conditions. Leave the residential roads alone while they're white and hard, but promptly plow (right to the pavement if necessary) when they turn brown and soft.

[cnr67]

Originally Posted by etownboarder

Snow removal Edmontonians’ No. 1 concern
City wants to add $800,000 to $44M budget
BY GORDON KENT, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COMAPRIL 30, 2010 1:02 PM

EDMONTON — The city wants to spend an extra $800,000 next year to improve residential road plowing after more than 1,000 Edmontonians said they weren’t happy with the current system.

Officials want to blade neighbourhood streets down to a five-centimetre snowpack once major thoroughfares are cleared, according to a new report.

The current policy is to run up to three residential plowing cycles each winter, leaving a 10-centimetre base, but this created slush during January’s thaw that made travel difficult, roadway maintenance director Bob Dunford said Friday.

Later in the season workers kept the snow buildup around five centimetres, which led to major improvements, he said.

“This spring when we had our thaw, we had no mobility problems as a result,” he said.

Pure BS. I measured the alley ice thickness a 8 inches or 20 cm thick this spring. The roadway in front was equally as abysmal. I don't buy any of the city's verbal diarrhoea. I have lived here long enough to know Edmonton is a backwoods hillbilly city when it comes to winter snow removal. I'll believe it when I don't have damage to my vehicles next spring as I did this year.

[240GLT]

^ maybe it's not the roads, maybe it's your driving.

I drive extensively (+/- 60,000km's a year from '04-'10) and have never really had a problem here.

[cnr67]

Originally Posted by 240GLT

maybe it's your driving.

How does my driving have any relation to the actual depth of ice buildup in the alley adjacent to my garage? I told you there was 8 inches of compacted ice on the surface of the lane I must navigate. The car I drive bottomed out in the 8 inch ruts and damaged my exhaust and struts. 8" = 20 cm. I measured it!!!!
I drive for a living The road maintenance is abhorrent in this city and is a joke when compared to other cities in this country. Hillbilly road ways!!!

[etownboarder]

Snow removal budget hiked
EDMONTON JOURNAL MAY 13, 2010

Edmonton drivers should have an easier time getting through the slush next winter after council agreed Wednesday to increase plowing of residential roads.

The new policy will see neighbourhood streets bladed down to a fivecentimetre snowpack once major thoroughfares are cleaned following a storm. The previous system saw snow reduced to a 10-centimetre pack up to three times a winter, but there were numerous complaints when a January thaw left many roads covered in hard-to-navigate mush.

Frequent plowing is also expected to reduce the size of windrows blocking driveways and sidewalks, which will be now removed when they reach more than 30 centimetres high.

The new program will add $800,000 to the city's winter road maintenance budget.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Story Found At: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/...#ixzz0npHHmXhe