City will make clearing sidewalks a priority
Last winter was a doozy, with almost 40 per cent more snow than the recent average and 75 freezethaw cycles. And that came with a deluge of complaints about ice-encrusted and slippery sidewalks.
This year’s focus for the city will be on avoiding ice-build up and accumulation.
“We definitely heard the concerns of our residents and councillors, so we’re putting more of a focus on our sidewalks this year,” the city’s director of roads and parking services, Laila Gibbons, said on Tuesday as city workers showed off new equipment at a city works garage on Trim Road in Orléans.
“We had an extreme winter last year, and I’m hoping that’s not the new norm.”
Environment Canada is predicting a chance of flurries on Friday and into the weekend. Here are some initiatives underway to keep sidewalks clear as Ottawa heads into another snowy season:
■ A pilot project that uses a “crosshatch” blade on some of its sidewalk-clearing vehicles. The blades score the ice so a second blade following can break it up more easily. These blades are more “aggressive” in clearing ice, and the city is keeping a close eye on sidewalks to make sure they’re not damaged, said Gibbons.
■ Introducing more of the icebreaking machines used in a pilot project last year. The ice breaker is rotating machinery that hooks to the front of a sidewalk tractor that perforates ice with almost 800 steel spikes, allowing salt to penetrate and allowing crews to clear sidewalks to the bare pavement. In a trial last winter, city crews reported they were able to clear about 10 centimetres of ice in a few passes instead of spreading sand and grit on the ice for traction. Gibbons said the pilot was considered successful, and the city has purchased more ice breakers.
■ Pre-treating certain sidewalks with a calcium solution, a technique that is already used on roadways. Calcium bonds to the asphalt and activates salt, allowing it to work more quickly.
■ Changing the snow clearing work schedule so city crews can tackle sidewalks 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The city is also conducting two reviews of its snow-clearing practices and standards. A comprehensive review, initiated last April, will likely take about two years and will look at existing standards and expectations for clearing snow and ice.
The city’s winter maintenance quality standards are now about 16 years old, but changing the standards have far-reaching budget impacts.
“As our city changes and expectations change, we need to decide our ability to pay,” said Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais, chair of the transportation committee. The city’s snow-clearing budget is based on average snowfall, and several years of heavy snowfall will increase the average, he said.
Meanwhile, a short-term internal review is also underway, looking at operations under current funding, resources and standards. A report is due out in advance of the Nov. 13 meeting of the city’s transportation committee.
The city’s GPS-powered app Where’s My Plow? is on the shelf indefinitely. The app, developed by city staff, was introduced by the city in January 2016, targeted at helping residents know when they could expect their roads to be cleared after a major snowfall. But the app was yanked because users believed it applied to any street with residences, while it was really aimed only at Class 5 — the lowest priority residential streets.
The city has said it was reworking the app, but Blais said Tuesday that while the app will be used by city staff, it won’t be available to the public.
“We would like to be there. But it’s a matter of where we put our focus,” said Blais. “We heard very clearly that people want the focus to be on snow clearing.”