SASKATOON—As Saskatoon continues to dig out of its second snow event in almost two weeks, city crews and its contractors have been working to restore it so residents can move around and resume their daily lives.
City Roadways and Fleet Support Director Goran Saric, on Monday, Nov. 25, at City Hall’s media room, provided an update on the status of their clearing and collecting snow on priority roads and streets that accumulated after the weekend’s 25 centimetres of snowfall.
Almost 10 inches of snow blanketed the city over the weekend, causing small vehicles to get stuck, residents failing to get out of their driveways, and the cancellation of classes at public and Catholic schools. The city received 17 cm (almost seven inches) of snowfall last week.
Saric said the weekend snow event had impacted getting around the city, as road conditions made it hard for motorists to travel. Even Saskatoon Transit operations were also affected, causing delays on some bus routes.
“We've been staying in touch with our partners in the Transit department, and all fixed bus routes seem to be operating with no major challenges. Access to Transit [buses] has experienced some challenges,” said Saric.
“However, they have operational plans in place on how to address those. Some bus routes are on Priority 2, and some are on Priority 3 streets. As we complete clearing on the priority street network, hopefully, all of them should be cleared by Thursday morning.”
Priority 1 streets are major roadways like Circle Drive and those where emergency facilities are located, which are cleared within 12 hours after snowfall. Priority 2 is major Transit routes cleared within 36 hours after the snow.
Priority 3 is school zones and neighbourhood connectors cleared within 72 hours after the snow ends. All classes were suspended on Monday, a decision made by the city in collaboration with the public and Catholic school boards.
The decision to cancel classes in elementary and high school was made to reduce the number of vehicles, private and school buses, on the roads, making snow clearing easier.
“We've been collaborating with school divisions over the last two days, and that decision [helped] us tremendously. Not having all those vehicles on the road for a day, I think it was like 65,000 people not travelling for a day, [helped] us tremendously with all the priority streets where the school zones are located,” said Saric.
He then asked the public to cooperate with the city to avoid dumping or pushing the snow in front of their houses to the already piled on the streets, as it would be added work in their clearing operations.
“That [pushing snow on the streets] is creating an additional hazard for everyone and just putting more pressure on us because there will be more snow on the street. This is a reminder for everyone to place that snow they need to clear on their front lawn or find a different way not to push the snow from their driveway or sidewalk,” said Saric.
“Again, do not push or blow snow onto streets because that adds to all the challenges. I want to thank all the residents for everything they've done over the last 48 hours to help their neighbours if they got stuck, helping them get unstuck and moving again. I want to thank everybody for their patience and for working together as a community.”
He added that the snow pushed onto the streets would create a pile that is a potential vehicle hazard.
The city also reminds residents that curbside collections for compost, recycling and trash will continue as scheduled this week. Garbage collection is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 27, while recycling and yard and food waste are set for next week.
Residents should ensure the area where they put their bins is cleared of snow accumulated over the weekend. The lids should also be free from ice and snow and closed properly.
The city said proper cart placement will help with the collections. Carts must be rolled out and placed in front or four feet to the side of snowbanks at 7 a.m. for easy access by the truck arms. Suspended collections on Monday, Nov. 25, have been rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30.
