Public feedback could guide changes to Edmonton's snow clearing policy

An Edmonton operations supervisor says the city could consider expanding seasonal parking bans into residential neighbourhoods, as it looks to update its snow clearing policy.

The city can currently call a parking ban on bus routes with eight hoursnotice after 10 cm of snowfall to give crews room to clear the road.

"Maybe looking at introducing something like that into the residential areas so our crews can work more efficiently," said Andrew Grant,general supervisor infrastructure field operations for the City of Edmonton.

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Drivers currently face a $100 ticket, as well as impound and towing costs, for violating the ban.

"I think it's worth trying to find something to allow our teams into the residential areas and work without the restrictions of cars in the way."

Grant and other city staff fielded questions and suggestions from residents who came out to the Delton community ice rink on Tuesday. The city is holding five other drop-in sessions in the coming weeks and hosting an online survey to gather feedback on its winter road program.

Grant said city snow plows blade down residential streets to fivecentimetres under the current policy. The crews use blading to level out ruts and pack down accumulated snow.

"If we did look at something like taking [street clearing] down to bare pavement, there would be a lot of additional cost associated with that," he said.

The city's operating budget sets aside $65 million for snow and ice removal in 2019.

The city clears residential streets on a weekly schedule, akin to a garbage day. Residents are asked to move their vehicles to make way for snowplows.

But when too many cars are left on the street, Grant said crews can't pass.

"We don't want to cause any property damage and put anyone at risk," he said.

The city's operating budget sets aside $65 million for snow clearing in 2019.

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Kathy Saric lives a few blocks east of the Delton community rink and said the ruts in the roads in the neighbourhood can be "very dangerous".

"You slip a bit and you can feel it, if you hit it in the wrong way," she said.

Carrie Ganie says she regularly sees vehicles sliding through the stop sign at the intersection by the local ice rink. She said the city should put a higher priority on snow clearing around schools and parks, comparing it to reducing speed limits in those areas.

"If you're worried about kids because of the speed limit, you should be worried about kids because of the ice," she said.

Ganie also threw her support behind the city's anti-icing agentpilot program. The program has drawn criticism after a report the calcium chloride mixture is more damaging to roads than salt alone.

Other policies the city could review is its snow bank policy. The windrows left behind by snow plows under 30 centimetres are the responsibility of property owners; the city has to remove it if it gets any higher.