WATCH ABOVE: As Tracy Nagai reports, the blast of winter is already causing headaches for drivers.
CALGARY – Road crews were out in full force all day Sunday and help was called in to keep up with the snowy conditions blanketing city roads.
“We have all available crews out and they are busy but we have called in contractors to handle trouble areas such as hills, bridge decks, ramps. So we’re on top of it,”Anna Blaxley from City of Calgary roads department said.
“Give yourself a little extra time to get where you’re going, drive to the conditions and leave space between yourself and the car in front of you,” Blaxley said.
Police say between 12:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon there were 207 crashes in the city.
RCMP responded to more than 20 crashes between Calgary and Edmonton.
Officials say the message is stay off the roads if at all possible and for drivers heading out, be prepared.
“Every winter we experience conditions like this. Our emergency crews are busy. We can’t always get to everyone as soon as we like so if you do get stuck on a side road or back road somewhere you may need to take care of yourself at least for a couple of hours,” Jason Graw from Airdrie’s integrated traffic unit said.
Environment Canada has predicted as much as five to 10 centimeters will fall in the city on Sunday, with a chance of flurries continuing on Monday.
The City said Sunday that its road crews were prepared for the accumulation of snow, as freezing rain and snowfall had been forecasted.
Crews attended to major commuter routes like Glenmore Trail on Sunday, laying a mixture of salt and gravel. The City told Global News that reinforcements were also called in to clear bridge decks and other problem areas.
On Saturday before the snow fell, the City reminded residents to be cautious and mindful of the conditions.
North of the city, Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section issued a warning for mountain-goers to pay attention. They say there is already enough snow in isolated alpine areas to produce small avalanches.
“Between 10 and 20 cm of new snow is possible by Sunday evening with a significant cooling. There is already enough snow in isolated areas of the alpine to produce small avalanches. Even a small avalanche can have serious consequences,” Kananaskis Country Safety said Saturday.
As of Sunday morning much of southern Alberta remained under snowfall warnings.
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