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It may be spring time, but Saskatoon city councillors will soon look at options to improve snow and ice clearing times on city streets.
According to a new report that will be presented to the Transportation Committee on May 6, some streets are not being cleared fast enough.
The report shows that over the last four winter seasons, Priority 2 streets have not met the 36 hour completion timeline. These streets include arterial streets with double lanes like Clarence Avenue, McKercher Drive, and Millar Avenue, along with many transit routes.
Priority 1 streets are consistently cleared within 12 hours, these include freeways, bridges, and arteries like Circle Drive and Idylwyld Drive.
Priority 3 streets are cleared within the mandated 72 hours anywhere from 97 to 100 per cent of the time. These include school zones, business improvement districts, and some collector streets.
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The city has been tracking how long it takes the operators of graders, plows and sanders to finish their work.
“Between 2019 and 2021, GPS tracking was introduced to the civic fleet and contracted snow clearing equipment. This enhanced the Administration’s ability to track and report on the timelines for completion of priority street snow clearing after snow events,” the report reads.
According to the report, there are two options available: to either extend the Priority 2 clearing deadline to 48 hours, or spend millions of dollars for more resources.
“The additional resources include eight graders (four city and four contractor graders) and eight seasonal operators for the day and night shifts, at an estimated operating cost of approximately $890,000 per winter season, based on six snow events.
“In addition to this operating funding, the city would require additional capital funding to purchase four graders at an estimated total cost of approximately $2 million which is currently unfunded.”
The report also indicates that administration is expected to review the priority system, while Saskatoon Transit is also planning to re-design the entire bus route system by 2028.
A full plan that will be up for review is expected sometime in 2027.
