With the arrival of snow, I would like to take the opportunity to remind residents about what you can expect for winter maintenance. Last year, we got an incredible amount of snow, which at times proved to be difficult for snow clearing.
This winter, to ensure consistency across the city, the area boundaries have been changed based on similar geography and infrastructure in order to focus on the unique requirements of snow removal in our urban, suburban and rural communities. The Roads Team has implemented improved strategies to battle the winter this year including maintaining sidewalks 24 hours a day, seven days a week as per Council-approved Maintenance Quality Standards.
What you can expect
Snow removal is based on a priority system, with Highways and the Transitway being cleared first. During a storm, you can expect major roads and arterials to be cleared. After accumulation, there is more focus within the suburbs starting with the minor collectors and ending with bus stops. You can find more detailed information about the city’s snow clearing on their website.
This year the city will continue to deploy specialized equipment including Blue GRYB Icebreakers and hatch blade attachments to battle the ice left from mild to cold temperature swings. These machines will be used alongside salt, sand and grit to keep our roads and sidewalks safe for travel.
Blue GRYB Icebreakers
Hatch Blade Attachments
Service provided by the Winter Operations team is provided within the parameters of the Council approved Maintenance Quality Standards.
What you can do
If you have concerns with winter maintenance this season, please contact Service Ottawa directly. This will ensure your request gets logged directly with the Roads Department. Service Requests can be made online on the city’s website or by calling 311. Should your concern continue, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at Jenna.Sudds@ottawa.ca or by calling 613-580-2474.
To ensure adequate access to our roads for the Winter Operations team, if the Environment Canada predicts a snowfall of more than 7cm, such as 5 to 10cm, there is no on-street parking between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. When an overnight parking ban is made, the city will issue a special advisory to local media. It will also be posted on Ottawa.ca. The parking ban ends when snow clearing is completed, and the city issues an advisory lifting the parking ban.
Residents are responsible for clearing their driveway, including sidewalks in front of their house. Homeowners are encouraged to help city crews by clearing catch basins and fire hydrants on or adjacent to their property.
