Residential snow plowing is expected to begin on Monday.
City of Red Deer snow crews have finished plowing and sanding purple routes (hills, hazards, hospital routes and bridges). Major arterial routes and the downtown will be completed over the weekend and if the weather cooperates, residential plowing will begin on Monday in Deer Park, south of 39th Street, with Lancaster following soon after.
The city’s public works department says the residential plowing is happening much earlier in the season than usual because of the icy conditions caused when the snow fell on relatively warm ground, forming a layer of ice underneath.
“Right now, crews are working around the clock to keep roads drivable,” said roads superintendent Doug Halldorson. “With minimal breaks between snowfalls, crews have found themselves circling back to start the process of clearing purple and red routes before being able to move on to other secondary arterials.
“In the same way, citizens have been circling back to repeatedly shovel their sidewalks and driveways, our crews have been circling back to re-plow bridge decks and priority roadways.”
Crews have also been busy sanding intersections, hills, and bridges as much as possible. This work will continue throughout the week, and into the weekend.
Residential plowing is expected to start on collectors, transit routes, and residential streets adjacent to schools in Deer Park, south of 39th Street on Monday continuing through Tuesday, when all the other residential streets in that area will be cleared.
Plowing the collectors, transit and school areas in Lancaster is expected to start Wednesday and continue into Thursday, with the remaining residential streets in that subdivision seeing plows beginning on Thursday. Clearing all residential streets in the city will take until the first week of December, depending on what else Mother Nature has in store for the city.
Residents are encouraged to watch for no-parking signs on green routes and at the entrance to their neighbourhoods for grey routes and to sign up for Snow Zone notices at www.reddeer.ca/notifyreddeer to get text, email or phone call reminders before they need to move their vehicles off the street.
“We ask that citizens move their vehicles to make way for plows and equipment as this enables crews to move through neighbourhoods quickly,” said Halldorson.
Parking restrictions are in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily while plowing is scheduled, and vehicles left on the street will be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense.
The city has a priority-based snow and ice control program with specific triggers to indicate when, where and how plowing and sanding should take place across the city. For instance, hills, bridges, overpasses, high-hazard locations and hospital access routes are plowed within eight hours after five cm of snow has accumulated.
Residents are encouraged to contact Parks & Public Works at 403-342-8238 to report streets in need of attention.