Slip sliding away: Extreme cold causing snow-packed, slippery streets in Regina

The extreme cold weather combined with snow-packed streets have created dangerous driving conditions in Regina this past week.

In the last seven days, the Regina Police Service has responded to 102 collisions in the city, 17 of those involved injuries. It’s a drastic increase from this time last year, when police responded to 52 collisions within the same time period.

The city says they currently have 10 sanding trucks working throughout the city, applying a sand-salt mixture to high-speed and high volume roads every four hours, and to school and bus routes every eight hours.

However, officials say when the temperature is this cold, it’s Mother Nature who dictates how effective the sand and salt will be; creating even more of a challenge for city crews.

“Salt needs to be above minus 12 degrees Celsius to activate and start melting the ice,” City of Regina Roadways & Transportation acting director Evan Guenther said. “Sand itself, when we place it has a tendency to disperse due to wind conditions and the cold weather, it’s harder to place and have things stay in place. That’s the importance of us cycling through on a consistent basis.”

Guenther also adds that the city is hoping the warmer weather forecast for this weekend will help alleviate some of the icy conditions.

Both the city and SGI are reminding drivers to take the conditions into consideration went hitting the roads.

“It’s really important when you’re dealing with winter road conditions (to) reduce your speed, increase your following distance, use slow and steady acceleration and braking, gradual turning, look for traction, be careful around intersections and avoid other distractions, keep your eyes on the road,” SGI media relations manager Tyler McMurchy said.

McMurchy also noted it’s important to avoid locking your brakes, and look for areas where you can get traction.

“Look for traction,” McMurchy added. “You might be in a lane where the tracks are but if you shift over even a foot or two you might find that traction with snow or sand that hasn’t been packed over and isn’t slick.”

The City of Regina is also urging residents to let them know if they have concerns over specific intersections or roadways. You can voice concerns on the city’s website, the City of Regina Facebook page, or by calling Service Regina at 306-777-7000.

The city is also reminding residents of their winter sandbox program that offers free dry sand to residents for sidewalks. A list of pickup locations is available at regina.ca/sand.