Road crews will do a quick change of gears to clean up some of Red Deer’s most badly rutted streets, says the public works manager.
Complaints have been coming from all over the city about the deep and jagged ruts that have built up and hardened on road surfaces, creating hazardous driving conditions for motorists, Greg Sikora said on Tuesday.
The city has not yet decided to clear all residential streets.
Ruts are so deep that some cars have bottomed out on the ice while other motorists report difficulty controlling their vehicles.
A disproportionate number of the complaints have come from 55th and 57th Avenues in West Park, Allan Street and 43rd Avenue in Grandview and Mountview, said Sikora, who has promised that those streets will be scraped clean this week.
Road crews will then go back to the plan they have been working on since the last snowfall — weather permitting.
Unless there is more snow, regular clearing will continue on a priority schedule.
Warm weather expected over the next week will help speed up the process, providing it holds, said Sikora.
City resident Kevin Hodge, who commutes to work in Lacombe from his home in Highland Green, feels the smaller city to the north is doing a much better job than Red Deer of keeping its streets clear.
“I haven’t seen much worse,” said Hodge, a former truck driver who has worked all over the country.
He said the ruts have damaged the front end on his 1997 Mercury Sable so badly that it wobbles when he drives it on the highway.
He had rebuilt the front end last year, but doesn’t see the point in doing any more repairs as long as the streets are in their current shape.
That’s a similar philosophy to the city’s policy for cleaning its streets.
It’s all built around getting maximum efficiency on a scale that places priority on bridges, hills and hospital access, said Sikora.
The city’s plan for ongoing street clearing starts with arterial roads, then goes to collectors and finishes up with residential streets.
However residential streets are not usually cleared.
A new snowfall, such as the dump that landed a few days ago, shifts the plan back to areas of highest priority, he said.
Sikora also offered some cautions for people who have their own machinery for clearing snow.
The city is currently review its bylaw concerning whether or not people can use skidsteers on streets and sidewalks and whether or not they can be plated and licensed.
That’s a grey area right now that will be addressed in another month or so. Issues include potential damage to public and private property and the potential for people to be injured, said Sikora.
But it’s black and white for people who have blades or snowblowers on their quads. Those vehicles are not allowed on city streets in any capacity, said Sikora.
In the meantime, he and Cpl. Kathe DeHeer, media liaison officer for the Red Deer City RCMP are telling motorists to slow down and drive for the conditions.
“You know the roads are poor in some areas. It doesn’t give you carte blanche to say it’s the city’s fault. People have to take ownership in what they do,” said Sikora.
Red Deer RCMP have not received collision reports related to the ruts in the streets, but that type of problem would not be reported to police, said DeHeer.
“Drive accordingly for your vehicle but also for the safety of other people on the road,” she said.
Calling current weather systems an anomaly, DeHeer said the city’s public works department has been doing everything possible to get its streets back into shape.
The RCMP had not received reports of collisions blamed on street conditions as of Tuesday afternoon, she said.
Unsafe conditions can be reported to the city at 403-342-8238.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com