Weekly newsletter: December 19, 2022

Resident guinea pigs, Speedy and Sebastian, were not too sure what to think of this white stuff.

With this first major snowfall behind us, it really looks and feels like Christmas!

I am so impressed by the efficiency of our snow clearing crews over the weekend who worked practically non-stop since the snow started falling Friday. Through my own observations and comments received, our community’s major roads and collector streets were kept reasonably clear, with a few exceptions.

Winter maintenance fun facts

Staff operate under Council-approved winter maintenance quality standards, which take effect at the end of the snowfall.

The standard dictates how much accumulation is needed before snow clearing begins on different types of roads and the timeframe in which the first pass must be made. The exception is for Highway 174, the Transitway, and arterial roads like Woodroffe Avenue, where snow clearing begins once tire tracks are visible. Otherwise:

• Within four hours: downtown sidewalks, winter cycling network – 2.5 cms

• Within six hours: secondary roads, minor collectors (eg. Beatrice, Cresthaven, Paul Metivier, Stoneway) – 5 cms

• Within 10 to 16 hours: residential streets and lanes (eg. Akita, Burntwood, Knollsbrook, York wood) – 7 cms

• Within 12 to 16 hours: residential sidewalks – 5 cms

Prior to the end of the snowfall and the standard applying, crews will make as many passes as possible, prioritising roads by their type. There are times where snow plow passes don’t easily make sense, but their routes are designed to ensure every metre of street in the city is reached within those prescribed standards.

An easy comparison would be to compare it to garbage collection: sometimes the other side of the street may have their items collected hours before yours, but the routes are designed with operational efficiency in mind.

All of Barrhaven north of the Jock River is part of the “suburban west” service area, which also includes Kanata, half of Stittsville, and most of the former city of Nepean. Operations for our area are dispatched from three depots, Maple Grove, Clyde, and (ours) Moodie.

Your feedback

I’m grateful to have received feedback with concerns, commendations, and observations about the snow clearing over the weekend. As much as I like being “hands-on” by going around the community, it’s not always possible and your feedback helps supplement my own observations.

Most of the concerns I received were about the timeframe in which our residential streets were cleared. Although crews met the above-mentioned standard, I’m aware that there were no passes made on residential streets until after the snowfall ended, despite other neighbourhoods across the city receiving multiple passes on their residential streets.

I also received a couple of concerns about the parking ban, which is declared if there is more than seven centimetres of snow forecast or where a combination of weather may result in a significant weather event. Removing vehicles from residential streets helps the snow clearing effort.

This weekend, crews did not manage to reach every street in the community before the ban was lifted at 7:00 am on Saturday, partly due to the continued heavy snowfall which meant arterials and collectors continued to be prioritised.

I know it’s frustrating, especially if arrangements were made to be able to respect the parking ban, and because by the time crews actually made it to our residential streets midday Saturday, the parked cars had returned.

These concerns and more will be discussed with our area’s Roads Manager, so I can get more specific information about winter operations in our community.

I appreciate residents reaching out with their general concerns and observations, but please ensure immediate concerns, snow clearing or otherwise, are shared with 3-1-1 so it can be addressed quicker. They have access to more work management systems used by staff and crews than I do.

Merry Christmas, be safe, and enjoy the holiday season!

-Wilson

p.s. The next newsletter will come out on Tuesday, December 27 instead of the usual Monday.