How are streets cleared in the winter?
Once snow blankets our city in large quantities our crews gear up to plow Prince George's 735 kilometres of roads and 200 kilometres of sidewalks as efficiently as possible. Our routes are planned according to a coloured priority system.
For more information:
Route priorities
What happens when we get a lot of snow?
When at least 7.5 centimetres of snow falls over a span of 24 hours we get what the City calls a "snow event". If a snow event happens, we mobilize our fleet (plus any contracted equipment) for action once the snow finally stops.
- Priority 1 (red) and Priority 2 (green) routes are cleared within 48 hours after snowfall ends if at least 7.5 centimetres of accumulates over 24 hours.
- Priority 3 (grey) routes are cleared within 72 hours after Priority 1 (red) and Priority 2 (green) routes are finished.
What happens during a heavy snowfall declaration?
A heavy snowfall declaration occurs when at least 20 centimetres of snow falls within 24 hours. This means a slight shift in our snow clearing priorities:
- Nighttime snow clearing and removal in the Downtown Central Business District Priority 1 (red) and Priority 2 (green) areas will start an hour earlier (11 p.m. instead of 12 a.m.).
- Snow removal completion times get by extended by 24 hours for each additional eight centimetres of snow (on top of the initial 20 centimetres).
Normal winter operations
In addition to clearing routes, our normal winter operations include:
- Gravel road grading
- Vegetation control (slashing, grubbing, chipping overgrown road right-of-ways)
- Pothole maintenance
- Normal snow and ice control
- Snow windrow road widening, ditch maintenance, and exposing drainage catch basins in curb and gutter areas to accommodate melt cycles
- Off-loading of cul-de-sacs and areas prone to flooding
- Expose/off-load curb and gutter areas within the Bowl to expedite winter sand pick-up