Some residents of the Lower Mainland, both on foot and in vehicles, reported a slippery commute on Thursday as the region was struck by another dump of snow.
In Port Moody, Cailen Marshall said shovelling the sidewalks on his own was “not going very well,” but the City of Port Moody had done a “pretty good job” of keeping the roads clear.
“We live on a bus path so we get cleared pretty good, but I know there’s some side streets that don’t,” he told Global News.
In Burnaby, builder and driver Gurmeet Singh added, “the sideroads are so bad but the main streets are OK.”
In Vancouver, some streets were closed due to snow and ice. Global News filmed some cars struggling to get up an unplowed hill at Laurel Street and West 8th Avenue.
In North Vancouver, snow several inches thick could be seen on some side streets as well.
“I am trying to make emergency access available on the street that we live on,” resident Caragh Fitzsimmons said with a shovel in her hand. “We’re on a cul-de-sac that goes about another 200 metres in that direction and we have had absolutely no snow service here for the last two days.
“There’s some elderly seniors and there’s just absolutely no way for them to get their cars out and they’re also having quite some difficulty shovelling their own driveways as well. I’m trying to do everything I can to make it safe for everybody here.”
Conditions looked similar in parts of Abbotsford on Thursday. Some vehicles had spun off Highway 1 and into the ditch.
DriveBC reported a collision in Richmond and a temporary closure on Highway 1 around Highway 11 and the Sumas Way and Whatcom Road exits due to emergency road maintenance.
In Surrey, municipal utilities director Yonatan Yohannes said conditions overall were “good,” with crews working 24/7.
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“Yesterday, the snowfall stopped, there was some period of time and that gave us an opportunity to clear a few streets that we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to do so,” he said. “By this morning, we can see that the major roads — there little to no issues and things were moving quite good.”
About 95 per cent of Surrey’s “Priority 1” roadways — arterial, collector and steeply graded roads — had been completed before 1:30 p.m., Yohannes added.
TransLink, meanwhile, said its services were running smoothly on Thursday afternoon. SkyTrains had returned to “near-regular service” on all three lines, and buses were running on ever route, although customers should build a bit of extra travel time into their commute in case of delays.
HandyDART was prioritizing riders with medical appointments, work or school, it added, while the SeaBus and West Coast Express were operating normally.
On Thursday afternoon, Global BC senior meteorologist Kristi Gordon said the tricky conditions are likely to continue.
In Metro Vancouver, up to two centimetres of snow is forecast to by around 6 p.m., with a freezing rain warning in place for eastern Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and the Fraser Valley. The freezing rain could change to rain overnight.
Around Abbotsford, that’s more likely to happen Friday morning, Gordon said. Closer to Chilliwack, the freezing rain risk is expected to continue through Friday afternoon, changing into rain later on Friday.
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