Major snowfall brings transit delays, power outages to Metro Vancouver

A snowfall warning has been lifted for Metro Vancouver, but there are still transit delays after a wintry day across the region on Tuesday.

According to TransLink, the hardest-hit areas for bus service include:

• University of British Columbia.
• Southern parts of Vancouver and Burnaby.
• BurnabyMountain.
• North-south routes on LonsdaleRoadin North Vancouver.

TransLinksaid SkyTrain is running normally. Passengers using HandyDARTshould expect some delays and are encouraged to consult TransLink's trip planner.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouveron Tuesday morning, but it was lifted by 4 p.m. Forecasters are cautioning people in the region that a mix of rain and snow will continue into the early evening, withtwo to four centimetres expected in the eastern part of the Lower Mainland.

Hydro busy with power outages

At the peak of Tuesday's storm, there were 10,000 outages in the Lower Mainland thehardest hit areas were Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

The storms have affected close to 60,000 BC Hydro customers across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and parts of the Lower Mainland.

Simon Fraser University'sBurnabycampus tweeted Tuesday afternoon that it had moved to limited operations, and asked students and faculty to leave the campus.UBC cancelled afternoon exams at its Point Grey campus but said the evening exams will go ahead as planned.

Snowy conditions forced the closure of theCapilanoSuspension Bridge in North Vancouver. The park tweeted that it would be closed until pathways couldbe safely cleared.

Environment Canada said the snow will ease overnight and we'll see a break in the whitestuff Wednesday but by Thursday an arctic front will descendfrom the interior bringing sunshine and colder air.

Vancouver snow plan in effect

The City of Vancouver initiated its snow plansMonday followinglast year's disastrous response that left streets and sidewalksunclearedfor days, creatinghazardous, icy conditions and frustratingresidents.

"This year, we have added new areas for snow and ice removal, including pedestrian pathways, arterial corner ramps, bus stops and some steep laneways, that will help us in collecting garbage and recycling," said Jerry Dobrovolnythe general manager of engineering services.

In a move likely to frustrate many residents, the city saiditstill has noplans to remove snow fromresidential streets.

"It is important for residents to remember that it is not in our plan to plow local streets, as is typical of primarily rainy-climate cities such as ours,"Dobrovolnysaid.

The new strategyincludes expanding the city's snow removalfleet, clearing major routes and increasing the inventory of salt.

YVRgets out snow equipment

Seven centimetresof snow had fallen at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)by mid-afternoon, something that was not in the forecast for the low-elevation area, according toSteve Hankinson, vice president of operations for the airport.

"Our snow team stepped up and made sure runways and taxiways were clear," Hankinson told CBC News.

About 80 pieces of equipment were out clearing the runways and taxiways at YVR, he added.

But the planes on the runway also required de-icingand that caused numerous delays throughout the day. The company that provides de-icing services to the airport can handle six aircraft at once, but with the wet snow that fell during the day, the process was taking longer than usual.

"It takes typically somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, but today because of the wet, heavy snow, it's upwards of 20 minutes to de-ice a plane," Hankinson said.

Passengers are being remindedto allow extra time to get to the airport because of weather conditions and the busy holiday travel season.

Meanwhile, travellers on an Air Canada flight bound for Ixtapa, Mexico, told CBC News they sat on the tarmac for about five hours after their plane apparently blew a tire shortly before takeoff at 9 a.m.

"It was pretty frustrating," passenger Joel Brown said. "Oh man, I had a couple beers, just to get over it."

Environment Canada cautions that highways, roads, sidewalks and parking lots could become difficult to navigate because of the snow accumulation and advises people to adjust to the changing conditions.

Snowfall warnings were also issued for the Fraser and Okanagan Valleys, and parts of Vancouver Island.