UNITY ‑ Unity town crews have had their work cut out for them this winter in snow removal efforts. With varying opinions from residents on the routes cleared and speed to which snow removal is undertaken, we asked our community’s mayors to let us know their town’s snow removal policies.
“Snow removal is handled by our Public Works crew," explains Mayor Sharon Del Frari of Unity. "They focus first on the downtown, then the streets to give everyone a path out. From there on it depends somewhat on winds involved and amount of snow on avenues. They always try to work from town centre out.”
Del Frari adds that residents can check the town’s Facebook site to know what roads are scheduled for clearing next so they can help by moving parked vehicles. Residents are also reminded reminded to refrain from clearing their property’s snow onto the streets.
Unity town crews have been piling the excess snow from removal efforts on a field south of the CP tracks.
Luseland’s Mayor, Kathy Wurz, says of their community, “ … depending on the nature of the storm, (crews) can clear the entire town in one day. Our public works department typically begin their day … at 6 or 6:30 a.m., in order to get certain main streets open after a storm such as that of January 31st."
Wurz says town crew’s priorities are ensuring emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, ambulance and airport access are given access first. Crews in Luseland also ensure buses can access the street to the school. Main arteries such as Main Street and Pacific Avenue are next in line, with efforts then moving across town.
Excess snow from removal efforts in Luseland is put in the lot adjacent to the Alliance Church. Luseland residents are also reminded to refrain from moving their property’s snow into the streets or neighbours’ property.
“I have been extremely happy with our public works department this winter season and they have been fantastic about getting things handled efficiently and timely,” says Wurz
Kerrobert Mayor, Wayne Mock, responds saying, “Kerrobert does have a policy in place for snow removal. If snow has accumulated or is expected to possibly accumulate 10 centimetres or four inches of snow, or weather conditions have or will produce icing of our street surfaces, either our public works foreman or assigned on-call employee shall call out sufficient manpower to handle the work that needs to get completed.”
Kerrobert also has a priority list , with Main Street (Pacific Avenue), followed by hospital, fire hall, school route and RCMP getting immediate attention If there is significant snow fall, such as November of 2020, the town brings in additional equipment from their area to help with snow removal.
“Typically, our snow will get hauled down to our fairgrounds, as there is plenty of room to put all the snow we want to down there. This year we had a request to make a big pile of snow at our hillside park for our kids to play on, so we had several loads of snow taken there and placed where it would be safe to slide down and well away from any type of traffic,” adds Mock.
The Town of Wilkie responds on their snow removal policies and practices, stating, “We don’t have a specific timeline for snow removal, however it begins after an accumulation of three to four inches of snow and after the weather event is over.”
Wilkie’s priority roads to clean include 7th Avenue due to schools and health care, which are followed by 4th Street East and 1st Street West, as they are listed as bus routes. Crews then concentrate on First and Second Avenue, with other streets done in order, or if some streets have more snow or ridges than others they are prioritized.
Wilkie Public Works crews do all the snow removal as there are only so many pieces of equipment to use. There are specific sites that excess snow is hauled to each year.
Wilkie’s Town Administrator, Lana Gerein, reminds residents, “The most helpful thing residents can do is, firstly, not move their snow onto the street, move their vehicle off the street to allow for clear paths for snow removal as well as remove any curbside waste or recycling bins as soon as possible.
“One other item to note is in cases where the amount of snow is great and the snow gate on the grader cannot handle the accumulation of snow and therefore leaves a ridge across property owners’ driveways, town personnel will remove ridges that are greater than six inches in height when personnel and equipment become available.”
Gerein also adds the municipality cannot close highways during a blizzard as it is not under their jurisdiction.
All communities report that they also have equipment to sand during icy conditions to help with traction within town.
With winter being far from over, snow removal efforts are likely a continued practice in our communities and the help and co-operation of residents in their efforts results in a more efficient effort overall.
