As winter approaches, Islanders asked not to place more Fiona debris curbside

Cleanup from post-tropical storm Fiona is still underway on P.E.I., more than 10 weeks after it caused extensive damage across the province.

But crews are now asking residents to stop putting debris like tree branches and yard waste at the curbside. The original deadline to do so was Oct.31.

"We're busy, but we're starting to see a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel," said Stephen Szwarc, director of highway maintenance for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. "But we know that it's going to continue right through to next year."

While residents who already have a pile of debris at the roadside can leave it there, Szwarc is asking people to stop putting out new items, and instead keep them on their property, take them to a drop-off site or to an Island Waste Management facility.

"We are getting to a point where we figure we are 90 per cent done, we could finish a road, then all the sudden we find out there is more debris," he said. "So then we have to continually go back. We want to finish a road then move onto the next one and complete everything."

Potential projectiles

The other worry is that once the snow hits, plows will be taking to the roads and won't necessarily be able to see the debris.

"If there is debris on the side of the roads, it does pose a threat," Szwarc said. "There's definitely some safety because it can turn into projectiles and also it can damage our equipment."

Snowplow operator and districtsupervisor Carl Molyneaux agrees that it could pose an issue for his drivers.

"As the plows are widening the roads back, these debris piles could ... potentially damage property or the plow itself," he said. "If the plow becomes damaged it comes out of service and potentially delays snow removal from that area."

Szwarc also says his department is addressing the 5,600 calls that have come in so far for property cleanup. The deadline for applications to the provincial cleanup program is Dec.9.

"We have triaged or accessed about 70 per cent of those and then we actually completed about 30 per cent of all the calls," he said.

The remainder of that will also continue in the spring, and residents don't need to re-register if they don't hear from the province before winter.

"As we did in Dorian, we had to stop because of the weather," he said. "And then once the spring starts, then we'll start back up."