BRING ON SPRING
The city has started using graders to clear ice ruts from residential streets to make it easier for vehicles and to facilitate better drainage as the spring thaw nears.
City of Saskatoon staff are preparing for the spring melt.
Crews will be out in force grading residential streets plagued with ice ruts, flooding and ponding issues and addressing utility cuts in the pavement until they can be permanently fixed starting in April.
According to Brandon Harris, the city’s director of roadways and operations, not every residential street will be graded, although the city wants residents to report any streets with severe ice ruts or drainage issues for consideration.
“It’s quite a tactical approach we do take,” Harris said.
“So we go out and have staff look, inspect and determine whether or not a road needs it for mobility or because of ice ruts.”
He noted that residential streets typically aren’t graded throughout the winter because, generally, they remain accessible and the snow piles created by graders limit on-street parking — a major complaint from many residents. If ruts are 10 centimetres or deeper, the city will send a crew out, he added.
Grading residential streets before spring is an easy way to ensure the snow melts and water drains as quickly as possible, Harris said. Streets are graded partially to remove ruts while allowing as much of the snow’s surface area as possible to be exposed to the sun for a faster melt.
Grading crews will also address any drainage problems by clearing storm drains when possible, although Harris noted additional crews can be called in to deal with backed up or frozen drains.
Residential grading work began last week in the outlying neighbourhoods of Kensington, Evergreen, Rosewood, Hampton Village and the North Industrial area due to accumulated snow drifts that had blown in during the major snowfall at the beginning of the month.
This week, crews began work in the core neighbourhoods, including Nutana, City Park and Caswell Hill, with plans to move outward from the city’s centre.