Weekly newsletter: January 16, 2024

Good Tuesday, morning!

It’s probably no secret it snowed over the weekend (wow, gee, thanks Wilson).

Thank you to the many residents who reached out with compliments, concerns, and general feedback about the snow clearing that followed. Although there were many positives from the operation, it’s arguably been overshadowed by several delays and deficiencies.

Let’s start with our sidewalks

Like residential streets, sidewalks are to receive a first pass by a plow up to 16 hours after the end of a snowfall, with “touch-up” work over the next day or so to take care of snowbanks at intersections and collapsed snowbanks elsewhere in the network.

There are instances where some storms will temporarily suspend service standards, but these are announced ahead of time.

As the snowfall ended around noon on Saturday, it meant sidewalks in the community should have been cleared by 4:00 am Sunday morning.

Like residential streets, sidewalks are to receive a first pass by a plow up to 16 hours after the end of a snowfall, with “touch-up” work over the next day or so to take care of snowbanks at intersections and collapsed snowbanks elsewhere in the network.

There are instances where some storms will temporarily suspend service standards, but these are announced ahead of time.

As the snowfall ended around noon on Saturday, it meant sidewalks in the community should have been cleared by 4:00 am Sunday morning.

Obviously, that was not the case this weekend.

Much of the sidewalk snow clearing in Barrhaven was severely delayed after mechanical issues sidelined some sidewalk equipment overnight Saturday and required parts which were not available until the workweek began (which begs the question about spare parts we have on hand).

The reduced equipment availability meant only one-third of Barrhaven’s sidewalks were cleared by Sunday afternoon. The weight of the wet snow meant plows were already operating at a lower rate of speed, which was further slowed down when blades were switched out for blowers.

As of today, sidewalk plows continue to work, and will be out 24/7 until every sidewalk in Barrhaven is complete. A blower will pass by first to cast most of the snow aside, followed by a blade to properly clear the sidewalk and spread a grit-salt mix after.

Delays of this magnitude are unusual, but it does worry me it has taken so long to get back on track, as well as the fact there were no spare parts on hand to address the equipment issues. I am on top of it and will debrief from all angles with staff this week to hopefully keep that level of delay from happening again.

In terms of snow clearing on residential streets, though most of the community was cleared within the 16-hour standard, one neighbourhood was slow to receive that service (literally right at 16 hours), while another was not serviced until Sunday morning.

Residents on streets off Stoneway were slow to receive service, while residents on streets off Sunvale and Collington waited until 10:15 am Sunday morning to begin receiving service.

Every community in the city is divided into “beats,” which are essentially routes plows take to ensure every street receives a pass in both directions. Each beat is designed to take about six hours, with two hours of contingency if the plow is delayed.

That timing is based on the majority of snowfalls. Much like the sidewalks, street plows were operating slower due to the weight of the wet snow, which led to two plows having to return to the yard for a shift change, which includes refueling, reinspection, and restocking.

The plow servicing streets off Stoneway returned by 10:00 pm Saturday starting with Markland Crescent, and completed its beat by 4:00 am, and returned again Sunday to touch up many of those streets (including Ash Valley and the cul-de-sacs on Knowlton and Sachs Forest, which were left incomplete on one side Saturday overnight).

Unfortunately, the operator of the plow servicing streets off Sunvale and Collington was unable to complete their overnight shift, so those residents received service outside the standard 16 hours.

None of the information shared above changes the fact many residents received poor service from the first major storm of the winter, but I hope it is some insight into what happened and what I hope to address as follow-up with staff.

Like pancakes, first storms are always a little weird, because that’s when mechanical issues that only appear when the machine operates become apparent. However, it still does not bode well for the service if fleet upkeep is constrained on weekends.

I really am sorry for the poor service and to the residents who have been inconvenienced as a result, especially those who have had private driveway serviced delayed or had to navigate more hazardous conditions walking.

(As I was writing that, I felt like I made the same apology last year, but I took a look back and while there was slow service at times, nothing compared to this weekend’s experience.)

Snowbank removal operations will begin in the community on Wednesday. The plan is to cast some snowbanks back and remove others 24/7 over the next two weeks. Unlike last January, it’s looking like the weather will co-operate!

Vehicle thefts

Yesterday, I also had the privilege of meeting the provincial Solicitor General, Michael Kerzner with Councillor Hill and our MPP, Lisa MacLeod. We had a great 30-minute discussion about crime and policing in general, but specifically around vehicle thefts.

According to data released by the Ottawa Police Service in November, Barrhaven had the highest vehicle thefts per capita in the city. We told the Solicitor General about feedback residents have shared, the data we have (like vehicles targeted the most), and lobbying we have done so far.

We shared the unfortunate fact car manufacturers are generally unwilling to improve their technology to reduce car thefts and the frustration at the seeming lack of action taken by law enforcement despite many of us knowing exactly where the stolen vehicles end up.

The Solicitor General was receptive to our feedback and assured us there is some cross-border co-operation between law enforcement in Ontario and Québec, but acknowledged more can be done.

Councillor Hill and I are grateful to MPP MacLeod for setting up the meeting with the Solicitor General, and will continue to work on the file with relevant stakeholders.

Southbound Woodroffe/Slack

Lastly, motorists who normally use southbound Woodroffe/Slack should be aware of ongoing left lane closures daily from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm until Friday.

During those times, the left-hand left turn lane from Slack will be closed, so all vehicles will need to turn left from the right-hand left turn lane. This helps eliminate a situation where vehicles are forced to make a quick lane change shortly after completing their turn.

The closure will provide space for road crews to set up a work zone for a water main repair at the location scheduled to begin next Monday, January 22. The water main work is expected to take eight weeks until March 12, 2024.

During the eight weeks of water main work, the southbound lanes will be shifted slightly to snake around the work site, but both lanes will remain at all times.

Thanks for reading! Wishing you all an enjoyable week.

-Wilson