As the Lower Mainland is bracing for another snowfall on Thursday, the City of Vancouver says it will be ready for yet another onslaught of snow and ice on the roads come Thursday night.
Ken Brown, superintendent of street operations for the city, says there will be 46 trucks salting the streets by Thursday. In comparison, 28 trucks were out on Monday when many Vancouver drivers were caught off guard by the snow and ice on the roads in what became the first major snowfall in the area since February, 2014.
“The snow came in so quickly and the flakes were so large right away, it was hard for the traffic to break it down,” said Brown. “Vehicles were getting stuck and we did see some vehicles out there with their summer tires still on that were causing some issues for others.”
He says once traffic started going over the salt that was already underneath the snow, the sludge was breaking down pretty quickly.
The city has gone through 2,000 tonnes of salt in the last week alone, and Brown says they anticipate that demand to go up.
READ MORE: It’s the coldest morning in the Lower Mainland since early January
“Based on what we already had on Monday, we can tell this is not going to be your typical winter weather,” said Brown. “Based on our winter forecast for 2016-2017, we are expecting cooler temperatures and possibly four Arctic outbreaks. That means higher potential for snowfall this winter, which we have not received in the last few years.”
WATCH: The South Coast is bracing for round two of winter weather. As Grace Ke reports, a significant amount of snow is expected to start falling Thursday evening and continuing into Friday morning.
Global BC meteorologist Mark Madryga says the snow is expected to hit the South Coast mid-Thursday evening and into Friday, with possible accumulations of 10 to 15 centimetres. The snow is expected to turn into rain Friday morning in low-lying areas.
Brown says their first priority on Thursday will be clearing bus routes, bridge decks, arterial roadways, collector roads, emergency routes and heavily used bike lanes.
They are asking residents to ensure they have snow tires and check for traffic updates before heading out. The city is also reminding residents to clear sidewalks by 10 a.m. the morning after the snowfall, or a fine may be applied.
READ MORE: Did you clear your sidewalks yet? Deadlines and rules in Lower Mainland municipalities
Madryga says there is no significant warming trend in sight and more snow is possible in the coming days.
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