Snow Removal

No, it is dangerous. Please don't allow playing on snow banks, tunneling, slides or snow forts or standing atop the banks to watch the trucks. Snowplow operators are unable to determine the whereabouts of children and cannot ensure their safety during snow clearing.

Cars parked on the street slow down clearing operations and delay response to other streets. If the plow operator cannot safely maneuver between cars parked on the street, they will leave that area and attempt to return to plow the street once he has finished his route. This may be delayed until the next day. Staggered parking on the street allows plow access.

Parking Enforcement patrols streets during snow events and tickets may be issued to vehicles parked on the road.

Our first priority is to ensure all streets have been plowed once. It is difficult for us to remove snow which has accumulated around parked cars. Following the completion of the storm, the plow will return to clear away the remaining snow.

This could take one to two days, depending on the severity of the storm.

Road snow pushed by the plow into your driveway cannot be avoided. The Town will not clean off snow from your driveway entrance. If you have a medical condition, please contact family, neighbours, or contractors that are able to assist with snow removal.

When removing the snow from the entrance, place it on the side near the curb where the plow will not push it back into your driveway.

Remaining snow along the road edge/curb must be removed to widen the road area for two-way traffic and, also clear the catch basins for melting snow that helps remove water runoff and prevents freezing.

Resident assistance:  you may also help by clearing the snow from the catch basins.

Snow plow routes have a start and end location. Your street may be at the beginning, middle or end of the snow plow route, which may be up to 12 hours to complete. This will explain the timeframe your street is plowed. Different plows have different routes; your street may be on a different route than the street next to yours.

If you live on a cul-de-sac, dead end court or at a 90 degree bend in the road, the plow will come through and clear the central lanes and leave the area. The snowplow is not able to maneuver effectively within a cul-de-sac and is best used on the straighter roadways. An appropriate type of machine will follow-up later to clear snow from these areas.

Snow removal from courts, cul-de-sacs, and intersections throughout the winter improves visibility and provides additional space for future snow storage and for clear road surface.

Placing snow or ice on a roadway is a violation under the Highway Traffic Act. Depositing snow on the roadway, shoulders or sidewalks hampers snow removal operations and doing so causes hazardous conditions for vehicles and pedestrians.

Call 911 for emergencies that require Fire, Police or Ambulance regardless if your street is cleared of snow. The Emergency Response agencies will contact Town Operations staff immediately.

Non-related emergencies

Getting to the airport, doctor's appointment, or have medical conditions are non-emergency situations. Town plow operators cannot respond to these requests as they work within their designated areas to clear snow.  Contact relatives or neighbours to maintain your property access or taxi service for transportation to your appointments.

The Town will deem Woolverton and Park Road mountains impassable and unsafe for motorists when the operators have  determined that the access can no longer be maintained.   Due to the extreme steepness of these mountain accesses and the winter conditions, the Town may close the road for driver safety.

Note

If you attempt to access these closed roads and get stuck, a tow truck may not be able to get to you.

Alternate Route

Mountain Street access is a recommended alternate route that is maintained constantly by the Region of Niagara.

The Town applies an anti-icing liquid to the escarpment accesses (Woolverton and Park Road hills) prior to a forecasted storm. This liquid is sprayed and dries quickly on the road. It looks like 5 or 6 narrow beige coloured lines on the road surface that will be slightly wet but no more slippery than rain water. This liquid is activated by the snow and provides melting action.

The Town limits the amount of salt used on the roads to reduce the impact of the salt on the environment as required by Environment Canada. The Town uses a mixture of sand and salt to provide traction on the road surface.

The Town's plow trucks and sidewalk plows are equipped with GPS devices that provide location, time, temperature, sand application rates, and plow data. Supervisory staff use this information to determine the progress of the snow removal operations and ensure all areas are completed.

The Town does not clear residents' sidewalks that branch off from the Town's sidewalks onto private property. Property owners are responsible for clearing the snow from these sidewalks

Most sidewalks are located close to the road and there is very little space between the road edge and the sidewalk to store the snow that is coming off both the road and the sidewalk. When this occurs and the staff become aware, operators will return to remove the snow as soon as possible.

There is a possibility that some grass or granular shoulder along the roadside may be rutted or disturbed. If this occurs, please contact the Operations Centre to schedule a repair in the Spring.  The Town does not repair or replace specialty concrete, paver stones or asphalt driveways/aprons that may be damaged by the plows.

Please call the Operations Centre to advise that your street has not been plowed. When we are aware that a street has been missed, a plow will return to clear the street. Routes are scheduled accordingly; however, alterations may occur due to equipment breakdown, delays due to parked cars that obstruct snow clearing or plows may have to bypass streets that cannot be safely accessed. Depending on the storm event, it can take 9 to 12 hours after the storm stops for the plows to get to all the streets. Staff record all calls and forward the message to the plow operators, but will not provide information nor return calls. They also do not identify when the plow will reach a particular street.

After a snow event, the sidewalk plow may be assigned to patrol the sidewalks looking for icy-slippery sections and/or to plow any areas where snow may have filled in the sidewalk.

The Town will replace a mailbox and/or post, if there is obvious physical evidence on the mailbox/post that it was struck by the plow. The Town is not responsible for mailboxes or posts that may have been knocked down or bent from the snow coming off the plow.

The Town does not clear the access areas to super mailboxes. If you have a concern, you need to contact Canada Post.

The Town does not remove the snow banks along the Main Street downtown core, as this street is a Niagara Regional road. Inquiries should be direct to the Region at 1-800-263-7215. The Town also does not clear out small access pathways through the snow banks at various locations along the parking sections of the Main Street core. Pathways that are cleared may be obstructed by parked cars.

If your recycle bin has been broken by the plow, please return the bin for replacement free of charge at the Operations Centre located at the corner of Elizabeth and Clarke Streets.

The Parks & Facilities Department maintains parking lots for the Town's arena and other associated Town buildings. Their staff acts independently from the Public Works Operations Centre that maintains the roads, sidewalks and public parking lots in the downtown core.

Properties with both frontage and side yards fronting the street may receive more snow in their driveways than others with only frontage. Depending on the amount of snow and the absence of driveways, there is a potential for the plow to carry snow around corners and inadvertently is deposited into the first driveway opening.

Please ensure snow is cleared away from fire hydrants if located at your property.