Toronto says its crews are ready to battle the upcoming winter conditions.
“Weather is always hard to predict, but the city is ready for whatever winter has to throw at us,” city councillor and chair of the city’s public works and infrastructure committee, Jaye Robinson, said in a release Wednesday.
“We have a multi-pronged plan for clearing snow and ice from our streets, including an arsenal of equipment ready to tackle this winter head-on.”
Toronto has allocated $90 million to ensure roads, sidewalks and bike lanes are safe for residents for the ensuing “classic” winter.
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The city has more than 1,500 personnel on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week to operate 600 snowplows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks. There are also about 200 smaller pickups and dump trucks to help out as well.
The main focus for the city will be making sure main roads are clear for both emergency and TTC vehicles.
After that, crews will turn to local roads, which are usually completely cleared within 14 to 16 hours after a storm ends.
Crews will clear snow on sidewalks with high pedestrian traffic and bus routes after two centimetres have fallen, and remaining sidewalks after eight centimetres — where it is “mechanically possible to do so.”
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This year, the city has also factored in a “priority network” of bike lanes and cycle tracks around downtown Toronto that will receive “enhanced” maintenance which includes snow plowing and salting.
Cold weather can also cause water main breaks, therefore Toronto water staff is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to calls for service.
The city is reminding residents to request snow clearing only after the snow has ended.
Residents can track where plows and salt trucks are using the online PlowTO tracking map.