New measures being studied for next winter’s ice and snow removal
Spring starts today, but West Island municipalities are already looking ahead to next winter and studying ways to improve the management of the demanding pattern of thaw/freeze/thaw/freeze.
“Removing ice has been brutal. It rains. Then it snows. What ways can we adjust?” Pointe-Claire Mayor John Belvedere said, adding discussions are already underway.
Kirkland has a meeting booked for May, at which time public works will present possible solutions to council.
“One of the main problems we have is keeping the storm drains unblocked,” Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson said. “The water from a thaw needs to go somewhere. If the sewer is blocked, the water stays on the surface and freezes. Do we need another crew to be dedicated to working only on storm drains?”
Belvedere grew up with an understanding of snow removal. His family was in the business.
“I have never seen anything like this winter,” Belvedere said. “And we can expect it to happen again. It’s the new reality. I remember a time when we didn’t need salt. Now the city has eight salt trucks.”
This winter in a nutshell: In November, greater Montreal received 83 mm of rain and 41 cm of snow. December saw 84.4 mm of rain and 14.8 cm of snow. In January, there was 41.4 mm of rain and 70.4 cm of snow. And in Feb. there was 24.4 mm of rain and 65.6 cm of snow.
Because the temperature would often veer wildly in under 24 hours, crews had little to no time to clear the roads and sidewalks before ice formed. Salt does nothing in a flash freeze, but municipalities upped their salt distribution nonetheless.
“People complained that we weren’t using enough salt. We used a lot of salt,” Gibson said.
“Council authorized $75,000 to purchase extra salt.” As do many municipalities, Kirkland uses a blend of salt and sand as an abrasive for slippery sidewalks and streets.
Kirkland has two ice crushers — one for streets, one for sidewalks. Gibson was pleased with the results and recommended municipalities consider the investment. With one caveat. The process takes longer than a conventional snow-removal operation.
You need a plow to clear the streets and sidewalks of snow, followed by an ice crusher to break up the ice and then another crew is needed to push the chunks of ice off the road.
“We used to bring in a grader after the snow was plowed, but we can’t do that now because the ice would damage the equipment,” Gibson said.
Pointe-Claire uses an ice crusher but Belvedere said adjustments need to be made to make the equipment more efficient.
“The ice being removed needs to be even or the machine doesn’t work like it should,” Belvedere said. “If the snow at the side of the road is frozen solid and on an angle, adjustments need to be made for the equipment to do its job.”
Cities around the world with harsh winters have been experimenting with pre-storm treatments to mitigate ice buildup, such as spraying the roads with a solution including beet juice, but results have been mixed.