Staff recommend boost in budget for snow removal

Kelowna residents are much more likely to complain about snowy and icy roads than they were a few years ago.

Calls about poor winter road conditions have quadrupled from an average of 250 annually between 2009 and 2014 to about 1,000 in each of the past three years.

The numbers are perplexing, city staff say, because average annual snowfall levels have not varied significantly during the past decade.

Speculation among staff is the rise in calls is due, at least in part, to the spread of new housing into higherelevation areas, which do get more snowfall than the rest of the city.

As well, staff say, there may simply be “changing expectations” that see people demanding a higher level of road clearing than has been done in the past.

Whatever the reasons, the rise is complaints is cited as a reason why staff suggest the annual snow-removal budget be increased to $2 million from $1.6 million.

The extra money would be used to hire additional snow-removal contractors to improve response time in residential areas after a major snowfall.

As well, staff recommend that Snow Routes be extended into the high-elevation neighbourhoods of Black Mountain, Kirschner Mountain and Academy Way (south of UBC Okanagan).

In areas designated as Snow Routes, residents must move their vehicles off the street during times of heavy snowfalls, or risk having them towed away or ticketed.

The city’s rationale for creating Snow Routes is not only that high-elevation neighbourhoods receive more snow, but also that streets in many of these areas are fairly narrow and present challenges to plow operators.

The recommendation from staff is to boost the snowremoval budget in time for next winter.