The City of Toronto’s winter crews are ready to work non-stop to respond to a forecasted snowfall of approximately 25 cm of snow beginning Wednesday evening.
Preparations and planning have been underway today for the coming storm with operations focused on the safety and movement of residents and emergency vehicles, with salting and plowing of roads, sidewalks and bike lanes.
The City has the following 24/7 staff and equipment that will be used in response:
The City maintains 14,743 lane-km of roads, currently 6,500 km of sidewalks and 640 km of bike lanes.
Given the length of the storm and amount of snow predicted, the City is taking several steps to ready for this multi-day snowfall. Salters will be deployed as soon as the expected rain changes to freezing rain. Plows and salters will be strategically placed across the city, ready to begin operations in their assigned areas as soon as possible in response to the weather. Plowing crews will be deployed on major streets and sidewalks as the snow falls and plow hard and fast overnight. Residents are asked, if possible, to move their vehicles from major roadways, especially snow routes, before Wednesday evening to allow salters and plows to safely and efficiently clear the snow. When on the roadways, people are asked to maintain a safe distance from City crews and equipment to allow them to safely complete snow clearing.
Snow removal operations are expected to continue after plowing operations have been substantially completed.
As of January 31, City crews have:
The City will continue to focus its efforts on removing snow to ensure:
During plowing operations for this new forecasted snowfall, every effort will be made to plow snow to the curb but based on the amount of snow and limited right of way storage capacity, certain curb lanes may be impacted. The City will be working to ensure there is always an active lane and that sidewalks are not obstructed from plowed snow from the roads.
Private snow clearing operators, commercial property owners and the public are reminded to store snow on their property – it is illegal to push snow onto the streets and sidewalks from private property. Pushing snow onto the roads and sidewalks can pose a safety hazard and hampers snow clearing operations, requiring City crews to return to an area previously cleared.
Crews continue to respond to and resolve all snow-related 311 service requests. New service requests for snow-related issues can be made on the 311 Toronto mobile app, on online at Toronto.ca/311 or by calling 311.
The City offers a sidewalk clearing service for seniors and people with a disability who live in any area where sidewalks cannot be plowed. More information is available on the City’s Snow Clearing webpage.
Toronto has a comprehensive snow and ice response plan that prioritizes the safety and movement of residents above all else. More information is available at Toronto.ca/Snow.
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