Five things: How the city wants to improve snow and ice clearing this winter
Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: November 11, 2019
Last winter ended with city hall under fire for its inability to meet the public’s expectations for keeping roads and sidewalks clear of snow and ice.
Councillors heard complaints about slippery and blocked sidewalks as the city worked to keep up with the terrible weather.
The city hadn’t seen that kind of winter blast in decades, with 312 centimetres of snowfall recorded, plus 103 hours of freezing rain. The 20-year average was 225 centimetres of snowfall and 65 hours of freezing rain.
After seeing public complaints pile up, councillors told staff to review winter operations before the 2019-2020 winter.
The city recently published its battle plan for the upcoming wintry weather and its retooled winter maintenance branch, in addition to the draft 2020 budget.
“We believe all these measures will lead to better clearing and safer sidewalks for residents this coming winter,” Mayor Jim Watson said in his budget speech last week.
With Environment Canada publishing a winter travel advisory for Ottawa, city hall could have its first test of the season on Tuesday.
Here are five ways the city hopes to satisfy residents who haven’t been pleased with winter operations.
More money for the winter maintenance budget in 2020
An extra $5.6 million would be added to the winter maintenance budget if council voted in favour of the city budget on Dec. 11. The total winter maintenance budget for 2020 would be $78.3 million.
The city adjusted the budget using data collected between 2016 and 2018.
Another $250,000 would bet set aside in 2020 for a review of the winter maintenance quality standards, which inform how often the city deploys snow plows and salt trucks to roads and sidewalks.
The 2019 budget continues to take a beating from wintry weather. The roads budget has been over-spent by more than $14 million because of winter maintenance.
And the year isn’t over.
The city’s budget runs on a calendar fiscal year, including the winter maintenance budget, even though the season traverses parts of two years.
When there’s a deficit in the winter maintenance budget, surpluses from other departments are used to cover the shortfall. If there’s no surplus money to use, the city dips into its tax stabilization reserve.
Around-the-clock sidewalk clearing
The biggest complaint from the 2018-2019 winter involved the quality of sidewalks.
About $2.9 million of the extra $5.6 million for winter maintenance in 2020 would be dedicated to sidewalk clearing.
The city is still testing new ice-breaking machines for sidewalks, but staff like what they see so far. The city is also buying new blades for sidewalk machines.
But the biggest different might be the city’s renewed focus on clearing sidewalks all day and night. More staff will be available to work machines during the overnight shift, which should make the sidewalks easier to navigate the morning after a snowfall.
There are about 2,300 kilometres of sidewalks and pathways managed by city hall.
Clearing the catch basins sooner before roads flood
Part of the reason why the city is spending more than budgeted for winter maintenance this year is because of the amount of work required to clear catch basins.
Blocked gutters in the winter lead to big problems if it rains, the temperature subsequently drops, and sewer openings are blocked by ice or and other debris. Roads flood and turn to ice.
Now, the city is creating maps to help identify areas that are often hard-hit by water pooling because of blocked catch basins. With a “proactive catch basin deployment plan,” the city is connecting staff from the roads and parking services branch with staff in the water services branch to make sure the gutters are clear.
Water services staff have already started work to remove debris from gutters. Roads staff will be monitoring the most problematic gutters over the winter.
Ultimately, the city wants to reduce the number of blocked gutters leading to treacherous road and sidewalk conditions in the winter. Staff will be monitoring the roads this winter to identify the underlying causes for the blocked catch basins.
The city is also making sure new developments have roads that won’t cause problems during winter maintenance activities.
The city continues to ask people to call 311 if there’s a blocked gutter on their streets.
Service area restructuring that makes more sense for communities
Up until recently, the city hadn’t reviewed the boundaries of its operating areas since 2008.
The boundaries had been broken down into core, east, west and south areas, which meant each of those areas received a one-size-fits-all type of service.
The city realized it’s better to separate boundaries according to community type, infrastructure and geography.
The new areas are now urban, suburban and rural, allowing teams to specialize in removing snow and ice for those zones. Suburban clearing in dense neighbourhoods requires a different approach than rural clearing on roads impacted by drifting snow, for example.
According to the city, the new area boundaries will deliver “a more tailored service” than before.
More communications about snow and ice clearing operations
Job one for the city is to make sure elected members have the most up-to-date information about the plan of attack before a winter storm.
Area managers are now responsible for keeping council members in the loop, with a deployment plan emailed to the politicians before a storm hits.
The city intends to push updates on social media and have prepared messages ready to go. There will be more information telling residents when they can expect their roads to be cleared according to maintenance standards.
Some of Ottawa’s youngest residents have been the target audience for city education campaigns about clearing snow and ice. A program in elementary schools has been teaching kids about the city’s winter operations.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
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