City keeps snowclearing promise
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EDMONTON - Last Friday, Mayor Stephen Mandel promised Edmontonians that all residential neighbourhoods would be plowed to the pavement by this Saturday. The promise accompanied an apology for the way the City had responded to Edmonton's massive snowfall; and it is now becoming a reality.
On the morning of Mandel's self-imposed snow-clearing deadline, city crews were busy clearing the last ten neighbourhoods on the list.
The plows were a welcome sight for Queen Mary Park residents, who have been struggling to navigate through snowy streets for the past several weeks.
"This is my first time seeing this big truck to clean the road," said Peter Jal.
"Everyone was getting stuck all over the place here. It was very bad," added fellow resident, Ray Pruden.
The residents were finally granted some much-anticipated relief on Saturday morning, thanks to crews who have been working around the clock to clear each of Edmonton's 270 neighbourhoods.
Bob Dunford, the City of Edmonton's Director of Roadway Maintenance, says issues like parked cars have made the snow-clearing challenging at times, but they didn't prevent crews from reaching their ultimate goal. "We said we'd take 14 days and in 14 days we have plowed 1,780 km of residential roadway and cleared over 2600 cul de sacs."
But the job is not over yet. Crews will now focus on removing windrows from arterial and collector routes, while residents will be tasked with the responsibility of clearing the windrows in front of their homes.
So far, the City has cleared more than 1.1 million cubic metres from around Edmonton. The snow removal cost for January came in at more than $20 million, and that number is expected to rise as Edmonton's winter continues.
Residents are also having to deal with a new set of problems caused by the changing weather. As temperatures warm up, the icy roads are turning to slush, causing pools of water to amass in many back alleys. The City is trying to make sure the catch basins are open, but residents with significant pooling of water are asked to call 311. And with temperatures now dropping, motorists can expect more slippery road conditions overnight and on Sunday.
