Community

Safety and satisfaction drives city snow cleaning crews

City crews working to keep roads clear during snowstorm

  • Parking ban on snow routes is in place
  • City works 24 hours during snow events
  • They ask to be safe when driving near plows

For Andrew Schwerdtfeger, the satisfaction of knowing that when he is done his job, the streets of Kelowna are safer for drivers is what keeps him going.

“All of our staff love what they do, honestly. It’s very seldom that we call somebody, and they say, ‘I can’t make it,’” the city’s roadways supervisor told Kelowna10.

According to Environment Canada, upwards of 15 cm of snow is expected to accumulate in the city by Sunday.

This amount of snow has caused the city to put a parking ban in place for snow routes. Residents parked on these routes have 24 hours to find other parking.

“It’s an ongoing issue with on street parking. You know, we’re trying to clear the road from curb to curb so that we don’t have to deal with ice accumulation and snowbanks on the road,” Schwerdtfeger said.

“If people are able to park in their driveways, it just helps tremendously.”

Vehicles that remain parked on snow routes during the temporary ban are subject to a $50 fine or towing.

Schwerdtfeger said when lots of snow falls, city staff work long hours to ensure the roads are safe and clear for the public.

“We are going out in the worst possible road conditions doing everything we can to make them better,” he explained.

“We run 24 hours a day when it snows [and] we have every piece of equipment out there right now. We have 45 staff members out attending to the storm and that will continue around the clock until we’ve got this cleaned up.”

According to a media release, there is a priority classification when big snow events occur. First, they work on high-traffic roads, then they move onto priority two, which includes collector roads, bus routes, school zones, town centers and emergency vehicle stations.

Priority three is for local neighbourhood road, and priority four includes and remaining lanes.

When crews are busy removing snow, Schwerdtfeger asks motorists to use caution around the plows.

“If the public is able to give our staff some room when they’re plowing the roads, it creates a much better environment where we’re not dealing with people trying to cut in between the trucks.”

Published 2021-12-18 by Jordan Brenda

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