Tips for weathering a heavy snowfall

TORONTO – The city of Toronto is preparing for a major snowfall Thursday night through to Friday evening.

Environment Canada estimates that 10 cm of snow will have blanketed the city by Friday morning, with an additional 10 to 15 cm expected as the day progresses.

Steve Johnston, senior communications coordinator with the City of Toronto, anticipates that the city will use as much as 12,000 tonnes of road salt de-icing city streets after the impending snowfall. This is just one of the measures to be undertaken by the city’s 1,900 snow removal workers. However, Johnston said citizens can take several important steps to mitigate the negative effects of a heavy snowfall.

First on the list?

“Don’t shovel snow back onto the roadway. It’s dangerous and it makes the roads slippery.”

According to the City of Toronto website, it can take up to 16 hours for all local streets to be cleared of snow. Expressways and main roads are the city’s top priority. Once it begins to snow, salt trucks are immediately deployed to main roads and expressways. Side streets are only cleared once snow has stopped falling.

While it may be tempting to push snow off your driveway and onto publicly maintained roads, Johnston says this severely impacts the effectiveness of city-operated snowplows, and increases risks to public safety. Keeping the street as clear as possible makes it easier for city workers to do their job, said Johnston.

“If possible…avoid parking cars that street. That just makes it easier for us to plow roadways. We always encourage people to clear snow around fire hydrants.”

In addition to the 200 de-icing trucks they put on the road, the City of Toronto operates a fleet of mechanized sidewalk clearing machines. Their website states that sidewalk cleaning will be performed ‘where feasible’ within the city. Johnston said that prevalence of parked cars and narrow streets make mechanized sidewalk cleaning impractical in the city’s core, where removal services are handled manually.

It’s important to remember that the city’s sidewalk-clearing services don’t apply to residential driveways or walkways. Residents are expected to clear sidewalks in front of their homes within 12 hours of a snowfall. Failure to do so will result in a $125 fine from the city. Elderly and disabled residents can register with the city to have this service provided for them.

To increase your safety on the road, leave the car at home.

“Use public transit wherever possible,” said Johnston.

Tonight’s expected temperature is a low of -4 C.