10 things you might not know about Greater Sudbury

It was back to school for Sudbury city councillors last night.

Senior managers at the city of Greater Sudburygave orientation sessions on their departments tothe newly elected councillorsand the public got a chance to learn along with them.

Here are 10 pieces of information that stood out.

1. The City of Greater Sudbury has 3,600kilometres of roads. That's the equivalent of building a road from Sudbury to ElPaso, Texas. The city has 425 kilometres of sidewalks, which if stretched out straight, would take you on a stroll to Toronto.
2. City staff say 25 per cent of Greater Sudbury roads need to be rebuilt immediately, while 20 per cent need to be repaved immediately. The same report saidthat only 1 per cent of city roads need no work in the next 10 years.
3. Every winter, the city puts 60,000 tonnes of sand and 25,000 tonnes of salt on the roads.
4. The city's handi-transit system is used about 120,000 times every year. Before amalgamation and the expansion of the service to the outlying areas, ridership was closer to 40,000.
5. The city has 179 playgrounds, 73 ball diamonds and 56 outdoor rinks.
6. The city is increasingly subsidizing the cost of operating its 25 cemeteries, because there is less and less revenue coming in from the sale of burial plots and niche walls to cover the costs of cutting grass, snowplowing and lifting up toppled stones.
7. Greater Sudbury paramedics respond to approximately 40,000 calls every year, while the city's firefighters respond to about 5,000.
8. The paramedic service has an annual budget of nearly $20 million, about have of which is covered by provincial funding. The entire $23 million cost of the fire department is completely paid for by the city and its taxpayers.
9. The city made $230,000 last year by renting out the Lionel Lalonde Centre in Azildato other agencies running training courses.
10. One of the least talked about city services is crossing guards, which the city is required by the province to provide. There are 49 part-time workers stationed at 37 locations across Greater Sudbury.