Snow Removal

WINTER CONTROL UPDATE

March 2, 2010 - there are currently no updates on our winter control activities.  IN AN EFFORT TO FACILITATE OUR SNOW REMOVAL EFFORTS, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PARKING ON YOUR STREET DURING A STORM EVENT.

THIS PAGE IS UPDATED DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS: MONDAY - FRIDAY - 8:00am to 4:00pm FOR 24-HOUR SNOW REMOVAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WINTER CONTROL SNOW LINE - 905-934-4600

 

Snow removal on all City streets and Regional Roads in St. Catharines is performed by the Operations Division. Roads and streets are plowed and/or salted as soon as possible, however, we do have priorities as to the order and frequency that they are serviced:

1. Main Routes focus on main roads which carry large volumes of traffic including bus routes; school areas; emergency, fire, hospital routes and critical areas on hills, curves and bridges. These roads are maintained to a “bare pavement” condition and are the City’s first priority.

2. Designated Secondary Routes focus on the streets that link the main routes with secondary or residential streets. These streets are maintained to a “centre bare pavement” condition and are the City’s second priority after main routes are passable.

3. Secondary Routes include all low volume local and residential streets within our neighbourhoods. These streets are not maintained to a bare pavement condition, they are plowed and sanded as necessary to provide safe vehicular travel. They are only serviced after the main routes and designated secondary routes have been cleared to an acceptable level.

There are a number of roads within St. Catharines that are owned by the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The City has an agreement with the Region to maintain a number of Regional roads for winter control while others continue to be maintained by the Region. Please view our Snow Removal Map which shows our main routes and the roads that are maintained by the Region.

Salting and Sanding
Salt is applied along the main routes and designated secondary routes early in a storm event in order to prevent snow from adhering to the pavement. This allows the plow to clear the streets more effectively. Salting may be repeated, as necessary, until a bare pavement condition is achieved. Critical areas, such as steep hills, curves, bridges, intersections and approaches to railway crossings receive top priority.

The City has develped a Salt Management Plan with the goal of minimizing the use of salt on City streets due to its detrimental effect on our environment. To this end, salt is only applied to the main routes and designated secondary routes. It is not normally used on secondary streets. Instead, sand is used on secondary streets and in agricultural areas to provide traction and reduce slippery conditions. In addition, salt is not used on any roads when temperatures become so low that it can no longer effectively melt ice.

For more information please view the Staff Report to Council and the Salt Management Plan which was approved by council on September 8, 2008.

Sidewalk Clearing
The City is responsible for clearing all sidewalks fronting City owned properties. Private property owners with sidewalks fronting or abutting their property must clear snow and ice from these sidewalks within 24 hours of a snow event. This is required under By-law 2008-315. 

Where City sidewalks are located adjacent to the curb and there is no boulevard, snow from the sidewalk may be placed along the edge of the street, however, property owners are warned that snow must not be pushed from driveways or parking lots onto or across City streets. 

Sidewalk clearing violations can be reported to 905-688-5601, extension 2222 or e-mail tes@stcatharines.ca and enforcement of the City’s by-law will be carried out. For the safety and convenience of all pedestrians, we urge you to do your part in keeping the sidewalks clear.

Property owners are expected to clear the full width of the sidewalk down to bare concrete. Shovelling as soon as possible after a snow fall is the best way to acheive this result. Once snow is packed down by pedestrian traffic it can be more difficult to clear. Spreading salt onto the sidewalk will help prevent snow from adhering to the concrete and will also help break the bond of packed snow and ice with the concrete. At temperatures below -12°C salt does not work as effectively. In low temperatures where sidewalks are icy spreading sand rather than salt will allow for traction until the temperture rises enough where salt can again be used. Here are some examples of sidewalks that are considered acceptable and not acceptable. 

Acceptable - Sidewalks have been cleared to bare pavement

  
Not Acceptable - Sidewalks covered in snow and ice, no salt or sand applied

Municipal Parking Lots
City owned parking lots are generally cleared between the hours of 12:00 am and 6:00 am when there is very little parking activity. Should a vehicle be parked in a municipal lot between these hours, that vehicle may unfortunately get plowed in.

What can you do to help?
As a resident of St. Catharines, you can help us in may ways:

• report any slippery or dangerous road conditions to us as soon as possible at 905-935-3813. We appreciate your assistance in identifying potential problems;
• whenever possible refrain from parking on streets during a winter storm event;
• pile all snow from your driveway and walkways on your property - not on the road. When clearing your driveway pile snow on the right side of your driveway if you are facing the street. This will help reduce the amount of snow pushed back into your driveway by a plow;
• shovel the City sidewalk in front of AND beside your property as soon as you can after a storm event and apply sand or salt when icy, By-law 2008-315 requires it;
• keep fire hydrants clear and accessible;
• on your garbage day, place your garbage and recycling containers close to the edge of the road but not so close as to interfere with snow removal.

Please be patient, you can be sure that during a storm event we are exerting our maximum effort to return road conditions to normal. Under severe conditions, it takes some time to get to all streets. If your street has not been plowed, please allow at least 24 hours after the snow has stopped before calling.