With snow piling up, city reminds public of its winter maintenance strategy

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As snow continues to fall on the region, City of Stratford staff continue to plow the roughly 200 kilometres of roads and sidewalks in its purview.

According to the city’s winter maintenance strategy, the public works division takes a proactive approach to winter maintenance. Weather is tracked and recorded several times a day, road inspections are conducted every four hours in the winter, and anti-icing measures are applied in anticipation of a winter event.

With a fleet of winter maintenance vehicles, public works plow according to a route map which prioritizes arterial roads like Erie and Ontario streets, then school zones and collector roads and then lower-used residential roads.

“City staff live and work (and drive) in Stratford too, so we appreciate and understand the frustrations that come with winter storms,” said Taylor Crinklaw, director of infrastructure services with the city. “The city’s commitment is to provide clear, safe and passable streets and sidewalks, as quickly as we are able, and in a manner that meets Ontario’s standards. The public works division has operators working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to address winter maintenance activities.”

Crinklaw added that overnight coverage is often assisted with morning crews being called in early, typically at 3:30 a.m., in light of a winter event.

“When snowstorms hit, the longer and heavier the storm, the longer it takes to get the city back to clear conditions. Essentially, the city is required to continually address collector and arterial roads until the snow stops. When the snow stops, we must ensure arterial and collector roads are cleared, before moving onto the less travelled residential streets. This takes time and we ask residents for patience as we continue operations, as it can take as long as 24 hours to make a full rotation through the city after the snow stops. When time permits, staff with contractor support address snowbanks on city streets. Removing and hauling snowbanks comes with elevated costs, which staff try to consider before undertaking such activities.”

If a resident sees a road hazard or an area that needs more attention, they can visit the city’s Report an Issue section on its website at https://forms.stratford.ca/Report-an-Issue.

They are also welcome to call it in at the public works line at 519-271-0250, ext. 259.

“Every year it takes time for drivers to become adjusted to winter conditions,” Crinklaw said. “We ask residents to please take the time to slow down, consider winter tires and plan ahead. Most of all, we encourage people to be patient.”

To see the city’s plow map, visit https://tinyurl.com/ub9ppy4p.