SASKATOON – City crews are using all available equipment to clear roads after Saskatoon’s first significant snowfall of the season ended Wednesday morning.
Some areas in Saskatoon were dealt up to 15 centimetres of snow during the storm, which started Tuesday. City officials said first priority roads, like Circle Drive or College Drive, were being graded as the storm was ongoing. The city utilized 16 contracted graders as well as 12 of their own.
“I think we’ll see some very positive results at the end of the day and will continue through until we finish the clean-up of this snow event that we had,” said Pat Hyde, the City of Saskatoon director of public works.
“We’re always ready to react to whatever the conditions of the day are,” he added.
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Once all priority streets are cleared, city officials say they will move onto school zones and business areas. Crews will also continue sanding and de-icing efforts in the days after the snow has been cleared.
“There’s a tremendous amount of activity that happens in-between snow events as well to maintain the streets in the condition they are and to help be prepared for when a snow event does occur,” said Hyde.
The amount of time and money a city like Saskatoon puts into their snow clearing efforts after storms like Tuesday’s can affect their financial state, according to transportation expert Carl Kuhnke.
“Your economic productivity is affected if people can’t get to work and can’t get home,” said Kuhnke, the managing director of the Saskatchewan Centre of Excellence for Transportation and Infrastructure.
Saskatoon should look to extend its clearing efforts to residential streets, according to Kuhnke. He says this will be necessary as the city grows.
“The one practice here that is I would say is dated in terms of best practices, is that residential snow clearing in this city is not done,” said Kuhnke.
“When you get to be a city of 500,000 people, you have to clear your residential streets, because if you don’t you’ll create chaos.”
Residential roads are not currently part of the city’s priority street structure, according to Hyde. However, those roads may be cleared if a city-wide effort is announced or if ruts are deeper than 15 centimetres.
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