City snow removal services ready for action

The City of Prince George is prepared for the upcoming winter season as icy conditions and fog have already hit the community.

Jordan Wiseman, Roads and Fleet Manager says the City starts thinking about snow and snow removal operations in early September every year.

Crews with the City of Prince George have a fleet of snow and ice control equipment comprised of the following:

• 7 graders
• 4 loaders
• 1 loader plow
• 1 snowblower
• 4 sidewalk machines
• 8 plow trucks

In case of emergency, the City also contracts crews with several pieces of equipment, according to Wiseman.

“We have 6 graders that remain on retainer in the wintertime, so in a full-on snow event they will be deployed when we reach our thresholds,” he explained.

Additionally, the City has two bulldozers, up to 14 loaders, and up to 16 trucks used to haul snow on retainer.

A snow event is declared when 7.5 cm of snowfall accumulates in a 24 hour period, while a heavy snowfall declaration is declared when 20 centimeters of snow accumulates in a 24 hour period.

During a heavy snowfall declaration, snow removal completion times will be extended by 24 hours for each additional eight centimetres of accumulated snow (on top of the initial 20 centimetres).

The City’s 735km of roads and 200km of sidewalks are categorized into three snow-clearing priority routes identified by colour on the City’s snow clearing priority routes map.

1.      Priority One (red) routes include the City’s biggest, busiest streets and boulevards, their adjacent sidewalks, and the downtown central business district and hospital district. Crews aim to clear these within 48 hours after the snow event ends.

2.      Priority Two (green) routes include Prince George’s collector roads and sidewalks as well as commercial and industrial zoning roads, laneways, and curb-adjacent sidewalks. Crews aim to clear these within 48 hours after the snow event ends.

3.      Priority Three (gray) routes include the City’s residential streets, sidewalks, and park paths. If at least 12cm of snow falls in 24 hours, the City aims to clear these routes within 72 hours after Priority One (Red) and Priority Two (Green) have been completed.

During this time, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the City’s snow clearing procedures, winter parking restrictions, and to consider ways they can pitch in when the winter weather affects our roads and sidewalks.

“The biggest thing at this point is just to be patient when we’re trying to move snow. Give us a lot of room if at all possible, I understand people are trying to get to where they need to go but snow removal is a very important piece in Prince George as it is such a winter city,” added Wiseman.

Residents are also encouraged to shovel and sand walkways and sidewalks adjacent to their property after a large snowfall, offer to shovel a neighbours driveway, especially if they’re mobility-challenged and allow extra time to get to their destination while driving.

Wiseman reminds residents to never shovel snow onto streets because it is illegal and can cause passing vehicles to lose control.

Additionally, the following winter parking restrictions are now in place as they go into effect from October 15 until April 15 every year:

• On-street parking is prohibited from midnight to 7:00 am downtown.
• On-street parking is prohibited from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am on Priority One roads and hills, the Hospital District, and a number of other designated roads.
• On-street parking is prohibited from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm in residential areas. Parking on the side of the street with odd house numbers is permitted from 6:00 pm to 8:00 am unless otherwise posted.
• Illegally parked vehicles are subject to a $50 ticket per offence and/or may be towed.