Strathmore's town council went over this year's snow report at the Wednesday (Oct. 9) council meeting.
The report was presented by Donna McCallum, operations manager for the town. She began the presentation with statistics from last year's winter.
"This past season from October to March we dedicated over 1,700 hours to snow maintenance activities. Keep in mind, public works have seven people, and parks have five," said McCallum. "We had 33 days that it snowed, with a total accumulation of 182 centimetres."
Last year's snow season also included one single rain day and 71 days where parks and public works helped clear snow in the area.
McCallum also went over the town's current snow maintenance, which includes:
- Running snowplows once snow accumulates over five centimetres.
- Removing snow on priority routes once driving lanes are reduced by 50 per cent, or snow storage exceeds 100 centimetres.
- Removing snow from non-priority routes in extreme conditions, such as when snow storage exceeds 100 centimetres.
- Maintaining ice control after plowing.
"The most common feedback we hear from residents, as well as Canada Post, is about windrows, the clearing on non-priority roads, ruts, mailbox access, ice on pathways, and drainage," added McCallum. "We understand that the windrows can be challenging for those that live on the priority routes."
The report mentioned that windrow programs are in place for several municipalities in Alberta, including Airdrie, Red Deer, and Lethbridge. McCallum claims that the cost of removing windrows in Strathmore may land around $150,000.
McCallum concluded the report by saying that although they are a small team, they are quick to respond to snow events and residents' concerns. She also reported that any changes to the existing policy without additional resources could impact service levels.
Following the report, Mayor Pat Fule asked McCallum what resources her team would need to remove all windrows and maintain all roads throughout the community. McCallum said that it would require parking bans and pushing snow onto lawns.
"I wouldn't think residents would like us pushing snow onto their lawns. A lot of people are really sensitive around the salt content and don't like that migrating onto the sidewalk," answered McCallum.
Last year's budget for snow removal was around $400,000, according to McCallum. Operations maintain over 50 kilometres of roads during the snow season.