Charlottetown hopes changes will mean better snow removal

Officials with the city of Charlottetown are hoping snow clearing operations will run smoothly this season thanks to some changes.

Last winter's heavy snowfall created a number of challenges for plow operators, and in some cases, it took days for some secondary streets to be cleared.

Paul Johnston, manager of public works for the city, said there will be an increase in services this season in several ways, along with increased funds.

"That is about another half-million dollars towards snow removal equipment, bringing us up to about $900,000 that we spent over the summer on refurbishing and replacing equipment and in some cases actually adding to the fleet that we will have on the street," said Johnston.

"As well, there will be about a $900,000 to $1 million that will be going out extra in our snow plowing contracts in the suburban areas of the city," he added.

Johnston says the priority areas will remain the same, including higher-volume areas,streets with schools, churches, businesses andperformance centres.