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Snow. It’s a fact of life in Canada. And when the snow starts
to fly, it can impact how we get around.
Drivers and cyclists want to have roads cleared quickly and
efficiently to allow for the movement of traffic. Pedestrians
require sidewalks to be cleared in order that they be able to
move around the city safely. Snow means challenges for everyone.
While we can’t stop it from snowing, we can take steps to
prepare for the worst Mother Nature can throw at us. As winter
arrives, the city’s Transportation Services Division is getting
ready for another year of keeping our streets and sidewalks safe
and the traffic moving.
Keeping Toronto’s streets clear of snow is a major challenge.
Toronto Council has established a level of service for ploughing
the snow from city streets following a storm. Here’s what you
can expect.
During the winter months, from December to April, patrollers are
continuously checking road and sidewalk conditions, as well as
monitoring weather forecasts. Their main role is to ensure that
roads and sidewalks are safe and passable.
When the snow starts to fall, salt trucks are sent out to the
expressways and main roads. The city’s main priority to
ensure that these routes are clear for emergency and transit
vehicles. If five cm of snow has already fallen and it is
continuing to snow, ploughs are sent out to these roads.
If five to eight cm of snow has fallen, ploughs are also sent
out to collector roads, bus routes or local streets with hills.
Once the snow has stopped and there is an accumulation of more
than eight cm, ploughs are sent to the local streets.
It’s important to remember that the city’s first priority is
keeping the main roads clear, so please be patient. We’ll get to
the side streets as soon as possible. Please wait 24 hours after
the snow has stopped before calling us to let us know if your
street has not yet been ploughed. Once roads have been ploughed
and are in passable condition, smaller ploughs and hand crews
clear sidewalks, bus stops, crosswalks, bus shelters and
seniors’ sidewalks.
What Can You Expect From Us?
- Every effort will be made to keep the expressways and main
roads open during a snowstorm.
- Ploughing on side streets will usually be completed within
14-16 hours after the snow stops falling. An additional 24 hours
is spent ploughing difficult areas where snow has not been
completely cleared.
- Sidewalks, where the city provides the service, will
generally be ploughed with 24-48 hours of a snowstorm.
- Bus stops and transit shelters will generally be ploughed
within 48 hours after a snowstorm.
- Where feasible, residential driveway windrows will be opened
after a side street is ploughed. Please note that our intent is to
only plough a sufficient amount of snow from the windrow to
permit a vehicle to easily drive across. Windrow clearing is not
provided on narrow streets with no boulevards or where on-street
parking is permitted.
- You can get current snow ploughing information by calling
311. Residents may call this number to find out how snow
ploughing operations are progressing.
What can you do leading up to
and Following a Snow Storm?
- Do not push snow from your property back onto the street.
It is illegal and it obstructs the work that our operators are
doing.
- Use salt on sidewalks and stairs only when necessary.
- If possible, keep parked cars off the street so that ploughs
can move through the streets more effectively.
- Please avoid parking vehicles over sidewalks. This hampers
sidewalk snow ploughing efforts.
- Use public transit whenever possible. Fewer cars on the
street can help us plough the snow.
- Wait until the ploughs have gone by before completely
shoveling your driveway. This also applies if you have a
sidewalk in front of your property.
- When a snow storm is forecast, you should ensure that you
purchase any food, medication and household supplies that you
might need for the next 48 hours. Try to stay off the streets.
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