Snow-clogged streets will be plowed today says city

Bob Hennessey was one of many residents on Dale Drive happy to see a snow plow today.

The Charlottetown residentwaited three days for Public Work crews to get to his street.

"[There was] basically five to six feet of snow right in the very centre of it with no path for people to walk down through. [It was] just basically closed off," said Hennessey.

The Sherwood Parkdale area was one areas hit hard in Sunday's and Monday's storms that dropped over 85 centimetres of snow on the city.

The City of Charlottetown brought in extra crews Tuesday night to assist with the storm clean up.

Crews are clearing streets with snow plows, blowers and front-end loaders. Public Works wanted to have at least one lane open on every street by the end of the day.

"We're still trying to get all of our residential streets open," said Paul Johnston, a manager with Public Works.

"The suburban residential area is what we're trying to complete right now. This is the last areas that we're getting to unfortunately. At the end of the day, someone is last."

The city is using over 40 pieces of snow-removal equipment to clear streets and sidewalks.

A blower and a plow worked to clear the streets in Hennessey's neighbourhood.

Hennessey questioned why it took so long for extra crews with more equipment to be brought in and why the regular contractors don't have better equipment.

"I wonder when they bring blowers in, why the individual who has the contract for doing the street doesn't have blowers," said Hennessey.

But plow operator Gordon MacDougall said it was tough goingwith that many centimetres of snow.

"Since it's so cold, everything is packed down. It's icy underneath and very hard driving."

In a news release, the City of Charlottetown thanked the public for their cooperation and patience as the snow removal operations continued.

City appreciates patience

"Our appreciation goes out to the community and the province for their continued cooperation and to the city employees and many contractors who have worked a tremendous number of hours before, during, and after this latest storm," said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee.

"Our emergency services have been able to respond to every call, thanks to plow operators who have been on-call to help. Everyone has been working together to keep our city safe."

The storm cleanup crews will work overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning to widen streets with industrial blowers and heavy equipment in the suburban residential areas. They will also concentrate on widening streets and hauling snow from school zones.

Parking restrictions will continue and another announcement will be made by Thursday afternoon. The restriction applies to all parking on all city streets.

The city is encouraging motorists to carpool or make use of transit.

"Crews have made great progress opening streets and sidewalks in the city, thanks to the continued cooperation of our citizens and compliance with the parking restrictions," said Councillor Terry Bernard.

"There is still a lot of work to do, but every street is now open and we are now working to widen streets and haul snow."