Halifax’s roads and sidewalks have come a long way since last week’s storm, but the cleanup isn’t finished yet.
READ MORE: Halifax’s snow is not going anywhere soon
“We’ve accomplished a lot of street widening in our main arterials getting ready for rush hour Tuesday morning,” said Trevor Harvie, HRM’s superintendent of winter operations.
“Our sidewalks are making some progress, [crews have] a huge battle ahead of them and they’ve worked through a lot of it.”
Despite ongoing efforts, some of the city’s busiest streets – like Chebucto Road – still have lanes covered in snow. Harvie said they’re clearing snow based on a number of factors, including traffic volumes and Halifax Transit routes.
“If there are two lanes available we maybe just won’t get to that first, compared to a street with high volume where there’s only two lanes and only one of them is available,” said Harvie.
“We know those main arterials that bring people in and out of the urban core – those are the ones we focus with first … Recognizing that some lanes might be more critical than others and that’s usually how we prioritize.”
Parking ban in ninth night
The overnight parking ban will once again be enforced on Tuesday – the ninth night in a row.
City crews are still working around the clock to widen streets and truck away snow, but in order for them to be able to do that they need to be able to actually reach the snow banks.
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“For us to do our work as efficiently as possible and to get that snow cleared away so people can park and travel without any obstruction, we just need to make sure as many people as possible are parked off the street,” said Harvie.
READ MORE: Halifax parking ban: When you can and can’t park on the street overnight
More than just streets and sidewalks to dig out
Fire hydrants and catch basins were also buried in the blizzard and there’s an ongoing effort to dig them out.
“Crews are getting their way through them. There are about 8,300 hydrants so there’s a lot to pick through” said James Campbell, spokesperson for Halifax Water.
“We have about 12 pieces of equipment running and they’re making excellent progress.”
Both Halifax Water and Halifax Fire are encouraging residents to help dig out fire hydrants and catch basins to help speed up the process.
“It’s not a mandatory thing. We have crews out clearing them out” said Campbell.
“But we got a lot of snow. So, if people want to talk the time to help dig out then that’s great. if they don’t then that’s fine too.”
Residents can visit the Halifax Water website for a detailed map of where hydrants and basins are throughout the city.
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