News Release
January 18, 2022

Yesterday, Toronto experienced a significant amount of snowfall throughout the day which impacted some City of Toronto services.

As the City continues its snow clearing efforts, emergency services continue to be prioritized for the safety of Toronto residents. The City’s emergency services are directly connected with Transportation Services Road Operations via the Emergency Operations Centre to ensure each emergency service has direct and timely access to snow clearing support to facilitate the response of ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles.

Snow Clearing

The City continues to clear the snow from roads, sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use trails, bus stops and pedestrian crossovers. Crews completed multiple rounds of plowing and salting overnight on expressways, major roads and local roads. As of this morning, the City has completed a combined 11 rounds of plowing on expressways, 14 on arterial roads and 11 on collector roads. Crews continue to plow all local roads, which have seen one round of plowing so far. The goal is to have a second round of plowing done on local roads today. Crews are experiencing challenges due to abandoned or parked cars.

The City’s snow clearing operations will continue throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, after which the City will begin the removal of snow from major snow routes in accordance with the major snow storm condition that was declared yesterday.

When a major snow storm condition is declared, parking on roads designated as snow routes is prohibited for a period of 72 hours. This will allow for the snow removal of windrows and snow banks left by the City’s snow plows, which can restrict traffic flow, interfere with pedestrians and parking, and obstruct sightlines. Under this declaration, the City will collect and remove the snow to designated snow storage sites.

Designated snow routes are primarily located in the downtown core and include all streetcar routes. All snow routes are clearly signed. Parking on a designated snow route during a major snow event is subject to a fine of up to $200.

Approximately 600 road plows, 200 salt trucks and 360 sidewalk plows are out working 24 hours a day until the clean-up is complete. Residents can track road or sidewalk plows in their areas by using the PlowTO map online.

Toronto has a comprehensive snow and ice response plan that prioritizes the safety and movement of residents above all else. More information is available here.

Libraries

All Toronto Public Library branches remain closed today. More information is available on the Toronto Public Library website.

Toronto Employment & Social Services (TESS)

In-person services are back to normal today. All three locations (Metro Hall, Scarborough Village and York Humber) are open today and operating at regular business hours 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

City Clerk’s Office – Marriage Licence Issuance

The City Clerk’s Office counter at City Hall is open today for limited service. Appointments have been modified to address urgent and time-sensitive requests. For more information and inquires, see online or email: marriage@toronto.ca

Courts

Due to the inclement weather, the public who attend court locations for in-person services can expect minor delays to the usual wait times. All court and tribunal remote hearings are proceeding. Call centre and email channels are operating as normal at this time.

Legal

  • The Prosecutions counter at York civic Centre closed today. It is usually open on Tuesday and Thursday
  • The Prosecutions counter at Old City is closed today.
  • The Prosecutions counter at 1530 Markham Road is closed as usual. The building is not open.
  • All prosecutions services are being conducted electronically. All court remote hearings are proceeding.

Solid Waste Management Services (garbage, recycling, organics)

Crews are out today working to collect waste as regularly scheduled; however, due to the snow, delays are expected. These delays are expected to continue throughout the week.

There will also be delays with deliveries of new/replacement bins or bin exchanges this week. Toxic Taxi pickup is cancelled for today. Appointments will be rescheduled.

Please put your waste out on your regularly scheduled collection day and leave it out until it’s collected. Please do not call 311 to report a missed collection. If possible, please hold onto any oversized and metal items until your next collection.

Help make waste collection in winter conditions safe and efficient. Please clear snow around bins, do not place bins behind or on snowbanks and ensure a clear path from your bin to the road.

Parks, Forestry and Recreation

Community centres that support child care, immunization clinics or social services will open, but all other centres remain closed today. Since schools remain closed, After-school Recreation Care (ARC) programs will not run.

Snow has been cleared from many outdoor rinks and this work will continue throughout the day. Earl Bales and Centennial Ski and Snowboard Centres are open today. Hours, equipment and ticket information is available at toronto.ca/ski. Skaters can check the status of their rink online before heading out. Permit holders for outdoor ice rinks with bookings today should check the status of their rinks online or contact 416-396-7378.

For those planning to toboggan today, the City has 26 hills across the city that can be found here.

A list of safety tips is listed on this page. Please toboggan safely and report unsafe conditions to 311 and call 911 if there is an emergency.

Toronto Transit Commission

The TTC continues to monitor the special weather statement issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada for the city of Toronto. The TTC has increased staff where available to accommodate additional service and are monitoring surface route disruptions. Follow @TTCNotices on Twitter for service updates or ttc.ca.

Bylaw Enforcement

Response times for service requests and inspections may be reduced. Emergency responses for vital services remains a priority and are not impacted.

Animal Services

Toronto Animal Services is responding to emergencies. Residents can call 311 and will be advised as to when the City can respond to their service request.

Engineering & Construction Services

City-led construction projects continue with some delays due to weather.

Children Services

Some child care programs were impacted by snow conditions and school closures today.

As is the case during all weather-related events that may impact the operations of child care programs, families should email or phone their centre directly for the status of these programs before arriving at the centre. For the remainder of this week, families with children enrolled at City-operated centres are asked to contact their centre directly or call 416-392-3317 for the status of their child’s program.

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Media Relations