Snow and Ice Control

For information on your responsibilities for snow and ice control as a property owner or tenant, check out the Maintenance Bylaw. Its highlights are as follows:

• Businesses are required to clear snow and ice down to the surface of the sidewalk and lane crossings by 11 a.m. the morning after a snowfall;
• Businesses with accessible parking spaces are also required to clear snow and ice down to the surface from those spaces by 11 a.m. the morning after a snowfall;
• Residential properties are required to have snow and ice removed from their sidewalks within 48 hours of a snowfall, or immediately upon request by a Bylaw Constable.

When clearing snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks, please do not move it onto roadways, sidewalks and private properties other than your own, or against fire hydrants, utility boxes and road signage.

The Fleet and Transportation Maintenance department is responsible for snow and ice control on approximately 600 lane kilometers of roadways within the municipal boundaries. The exception is the Alaska and Klondike highways (owned by the Government of Yukon), and private developments.

Snow and ice control include:

• sanding;
• snow ploughing and grading; and
• snow removal on City streets and paved trails as prescribed by the Snow and Ice Control Policy.

The City operates with a limited snow removal budget and therefore must establish priorities to provide the greatest benefit to the majority of the travelling public. In setting priorities, consideration is given to criteria such as traffic volume, road classification, road geometrics, terrain, transit, emergency services, drift exposure, and drainage problems.

There are three priorities established under the City’s Snow and Ice Control Policy:

• Priority #1: freeways, major arterial roads, emergency routes, major bus routes, and roads with steep grades and during the spring melt areas with known drainage problems.
• Priority #2: remainder of the arterial roads, remainder of the bus routes, major industrial roads, roads in the central business district, roads adjacent to schools and roads to City-owned facilities and emergency routes within Priority 2 zones.
• Priority #3: all remaining roads.

When storms are continuous, or follow closely, one after another, operations will be repeated or continued on the highest priority until completed before moving on to the next priority.

Snow ploughing may result in windrows on both sides of the road. The clearing of windrows left in front of driveways is the responsibility of the property owner or the individual, company, or corporation affected.

Where occupants are infirm senior citizens or persons with disabilities that prevent them from removing the windrow, the city will plough in front of private driveways provided that a request is received from the occupant. Such windrows will be cleared after snow ploughing operations are completed in order of priorities listed.

In order to work as efficiently as possible, residents are advised to watch for parking restrictions. When snow removal signs are posted, residents are asked to remove obstacles from roadways such as vehicles, trailers, and basketball nets. Failing to do so means the obstacles may be removed at the owner’s risk and expense, or City crews may not be able to complete snow removal in that area.