January 25, 1999

To:Urban Environment and Development Committee

From: Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services

Subject:Summary of Winter Operations - January 1999

Purpose:

This report outlines the activities undertaken by Transportation Services staff in preparation for the 1998-1999 winter road maintenance season, the courses of action taken during the severe winter storms in the first two weeks of January, 1999, and the actions taken subsequent to those storms.

Source of Funds:

The annual budget for winter operations is $ 32.2 million. It is estimated that the current expenditure is approximately $ 24.0 million.

Recommendations:

1.That this report be received for information; and

2.that the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services prepare a detailed report for the March 31, 1999 meeting of Urban Environment and Development Committee recommending a comprehensive winter maintenance plan for the City.

Background:

The City of Toronto was subjected to a record amount of snow fall during the first two weeks of January 1999, from five severe winter storms that dropped 112 cm of snow during that period. As a result it was necessary to significantly modify the plans which were in place to address normal and average winter conditions.

(1)Winter Operations Planning

Before the winter season, Transportation Division staff met regularly through a "Roads and Sidewalk Operations" staff committee to review potential improvements to current winter operations programs within the limitations of existing contracts. These activities included:

(a)the placement of a coordinated information process on a number of fronts;

(b)a coordinated weather forecasting process was established for all Districts

(c)a review of necessary equipment, which resulted in the re-activation of the 5 snow melters and assorted snow blowers and belt loaders, which had been idle since 1992;

(d)re-activation of two in-ground snow melters in District 3 which were checked and readied;

(e)a standard salting and plowing "Equipment Activation" sheet was developed to provide a summary of all equipment dispatched and in operation at any time throughout the City, and which is used to help coordinate City-wide activities;

(f)coordination of snow dump locations;

(g)sharing and pooling of salt distribution to minimize salter/sander equipment travel times;

(h)preparations for contingency operations in the event of a snow fall prior to November 15, when most winter contracts are not fully activated; and

(i)coordination and rationalization of snow plowing routes across, or in the vicinity of, the borders between Districts.

A report on the harmonization of winter operations which was presented to Council in the Fall, was deferred until June of 1999. Therefore, the overall winter operations strategy for 1999, was to continue the provision of the levels of service established by the former Councils. This meant that expressways and arterial roads would be given the highest priority, followed by local roads where sharing of resources under former Metro contracts could take place after the main roads were cleared of snow.

(2)Snow Storm Emergency

A major winter storm hit the City of Toronto during the afternoon of January 2,1999, during which 38 cm of snow fell over a 12-15 hour period. City and contracted resources were deployed in accordance with the above noted plans.

During the initial stages of the storm, where lake effect snow fell in some areas, main roads were salted and sanded. This operation shifted to plowing early in the storm, by the evening of January 2. By 7:00 a.m. Monday January 4, main roads were plowed and passable affording the City the necessary mobility for emergency and transit vehicles. Snow plowing on most local roads had also been initiated, and the majority of these roads had been plowed by the early morning of Tuesday, January 5.

The first snow emergency in 16 years, was declared by the Mayor on January 3.

(2.1)Weather Activity

The initial forecasts for the storm of January 2, did not indicate the possibility of additional snow precipitation in the near future. However, fast moving weather systems additionally affected the City as follows:

January 810.8 cm

January 119.4 cm

January 1221.0 cm

January 1326.6 cm

The latter two storms, which resulted in an accumulation of an additional 48 cm of snow, occurred over a period of 36 hours. The total accumulation of snow during a period of 11 days was 112 cm.

It is important to review this information within the context of the average snow fall conditions that govern the extent of snow fighting capability planned and prepared for in the City of Toronto. For example, according to Environment Canada records, the above noted monthly accumulation is the highest for a January since 1871. An average yearly snow fall for this area is 130cm and generally, the annual number of snow falls that exceed 8 cm is less than three. Further, the average annual highest snow fall in one day during the last fifteen years was 13.5 cm. This is clearly an unusual volume of snow which strained all available resources.

On January 16, temperatures started to rise above the freezing mark, creating a significant concern for potential flooding.

(3)Response to the Snow Storm Emergency

(3.1)What Was Accomplished

Although the City was battered by five severe storms in a short time period, the main road system consistently allowed the City to function.

The frequency of snow fall and its volume interfered with a regular plan of snow plowing and snow removal operations. Therefore, in areas of the City where snow removal had not been initiated or completed, the accumulation of snow was very high and notwithstanding road plowing operations, driving and walking on some local roads was difficult Mechanical problems affecting the rapid transit and commuter rail systems during the latter part of this period, further exacerbated traffic conditions on the main roads. Unfortunately, it was not possible to extend the Emergency Snow Route By Law beyond 72 hours.

This critical problem was addressed on several fronts. With the assistance of the Corporate Communications Division, a strategy was developed to keep Councillors, the media and the public regularly appraised of the snow plowing and removal operations.

A command centre was established to operate on a 7 day/24 hour basis, coordinating activities with the T.T.C., Police Services, Parks and Recreation Division, Corporate Communications, Department of National Defence and Emergency Measures Ontario, as well as other organizations involved or affected by the snow removal operations. As soon as feasible after the first storm on January 2, all available departmental staff were re-deployed to duties associated with the snow operations.

In addition to the City and contracted staff already clearing snow, an additional 200 contractors were hired for the snow removal process. The Department of National Defence, The Ministry of Transportation Ontario and the Province of P.E.I. also made equipment and staff resources available to assist in the snow clearing efforts, and as a result, the 800 pieces of equipment and 1200 staff regularly available for winter operations were augmented by approximately 1000 pieces of equipment and the required crews to maintain a 24 hour operation.

Specialized equipment such as four BISONS, were made available by the army to assist ambulance and fire fighting staff in emergency situations. The Parks and Recreation Division, backed up these emergency resources with 12 "4x4" vehicles, deployed in strategic locations throughout the City. In addition, the Parks and Recreation Division provided over 140 staff, with various pieces of equipment to assist in the snow removal efforts.

A strategy was developed to address those narrow streets in District 1, where snow removal efforts were hampered by localized conditions. One of the most serious difficulties encountered in District 1, was the lack of storage space for the vast quantities of snow. This is simply the result of the physical form of these neighbourhoods, with narrower streets, the necessity of on-street parking (with over 60,000 permits issued, most of which have no off-street parking options), sidewalks directly abutting the pavement surface and generally small front yards. The residential streets were plowed, however, as driveways and sidewalks were shoveled of snow by the residents and businesses, cars were parked away from the curbside and vehicles drove on windrows, much of the snow ended up back on the street within hours of the plowing operation, giving the impression that the streets had not been plowed in the first place. Several streets were re-plowed, but the cycle described above, recurred. As snow accumulation increased, so did the height and width of the windrows and under these conditions plowing became less effective and the streets narrowed further.

To assist with snow removal operations, residents were allowed to park in off-street parking facilities, arranged through cooperation from the T.T.C., the Toronto Parking Authority and the Toronto Public School Board.

A parallel organization was designed and populated with departmental staff from all districts to assist District 1 staff with the specific effort of removing snow from the internal streets. Additional teams from other Divisions in the Works and Emergency Services department and over 200 personnel from the Reservist Militia, were organized to assist with the clearing of fire hydrants, as well as road catch basins to address the potential of flooding.

The second snow emergency was declared by the Mayor on January 13 and a third emergency was declared on January 15. Staff also presented a report to the January 11 meeting of the Urban Environment and Development Committee, with recommendations to provide a temporary fix to the Emergency Snow Route By-Law. On the same day, the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services contacted the Chair of each Community Council with an offer of a briefing session and committed to report to Committee and Council with an information report.

It is of interest to note that over a period of only 2 and ½ weeks after the initial storm, about 1 million tonnes of snow had been hauled from streets in District 1. This is the equivalent of the entire annual quantity of solid waste taken to the Keele Valley land fill site.

Staff of the City Works and Emergency Services department, were responsible for the organization and deployment of all of the above noted resources.

(3.2)What Was Learned

The priority of concentrating the initial snow clearing efforts on maintaining the expressway, arterial road and surface transit route systems in a functional and available state is appropriate. This allows the maintenance of quality standards with regards to emergency and surface transit mobility throughout the City. In essence, the City has been kept open for business at all times.

While the current snow clearing programs adequately address average snow storm conditions, there is a requirement to redesign the strategies of hierarchical snow plans, based on anticipated snow falls. Snow plowing operations which are based on approved service standards, resulted in main roads being safe and passable within a reasonable time period, even under the extenuating circumstances recently experienced in Toronto.

The majority of and principal difficulties encountered, were related to the removal of snow and the plowing of sidewalks, laneways and dead-end streets. The need to address the following was identified:

(a)the establishment of a communications strategy to inform Council, the media and the public of current and planned snow operations activities; and to provide advise to the Public;

(b)the need for parallel snow removal service for the Central Area;

(c)the re-deployment of snow removing equipment and staff as required throughout the City, with an override capability in emergency situations;

(d)the establishment of harmonized services throughout the City;

(e)the securing of the availability of additional equipment on short notice, through contracts of stand-by equipment or outright purchase and storage by the City, or both;

(f)the purchase or contract of specialized equipment, or both (i.e. snow blowers, more powerful sidewalk clearing plows, etc.) to deal with the inordinate conditions that result from the extent of snow accumulation which was experienced;

(g)the development of better contingency plans and adequate training programs for the re-deployment of City staff and equipment from appropriate Divisions and Departments;

(h)the identification and mechanisms for the early procurement of alternate locations for off street parking, snow dumping areas, etc.; and

(i)the identification of alternate City and/or community resources to assist with snow clearing for seniors and handicapped, fire hydrant and catch basin clearing, etc.

(4)Next Steps

Solutions to the winter operations needs described in the previous section of this report, will be assessed to refine the requirements for specified snow fall conditions in the following areas:

(a)review of City-wide winter operations service levels

(b)service priorities including:

-major roads

-transit routes

-pedestrian needs

-local roads/dead end roads/laneways

-school/hospital zones

-commercial areas

-others

(c)snow plowing and removal operations strategies (emergency plan)

(d)equipment availability, requirements and specifications

-City owned

-contracted

(e)resources

-City staff

-community

(f)budget implications

(g)emergency planning

-legislative framework

-levels of authority

-traffic plans

-parking plans

(h)communications strategy

-Council

-Media

-Public

-internal

(i)consultation

-City Councillors

-stakeholders

-other municipalities/agencies

The revised plans developed as a result of the above, will be reported to the Urban Environment and Development Committee meeting of March, 1999.

Conclusions:

City and contracted staff appropriately deployed snow plowing equipment to attack the winter storm of January 2, 1999. As a result, expressways and main roads were passable a few hours after the end of the storm on January 3, and cleared for the morning rush hour of January 4. The majority of local roads had been plowed at least once, by 3:00 a.m. of January 5. The standard re-deployment of equipment and resources from plowing to snow removal operations was hampered and interrupted four times in the ten days following the initial storm, to address the require plowing of significant accumulations of snow dropped by four additional storms.

As a result, the extent of total snow accumulation that had to be removed, particularly in the central area of the City, strained all available City and contracted snow removal equipment and staff. Plans to re-deploy available Works and Emergency Services equipment, as well as resources from other Departments, were put into effect.

In addition, about 1000 additional pieces of equipment and their operators were made available by a number of organizations including the Department of National Defence, the Province of Ontario, the Province of P.E.I., etc., to supplement the snow removal efforts, and appropriate management and administrative organizations to deploy these resources effectively were put in place.

As a result of several interim debriefing sessions of Works and Emergency Services staff, areas of improvement have already been identified and appropriate plans and strategies are being developed to address similar extenuating snow emergency situations. These will be presented to the March, 1999, meeting of the Urban Environment and Development Committee.

Contact Name:

Roberto Stopnicki

Director, Transportation Services, District 3

Works and Emergency Services

Tel:395-7480

Fax:395-7482

David C. Kaufman

General Manager, Transportation Services

Barry H. Gutteridge

Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services

RS/fc