Salting & Plowing Roads

Toronto’s 14,700 lane-km of roads and on-street bike lanes, 7,900 km of sidewalks and 467 lane-km of cycle tracks (including separated bike lanes, on-road bike lanes and multi-use trails) is cleared by a fleet of approximately 1,400 pieces of snow clearing equipment.
Twenty-four-hour patrols continuously check road conditions and staff monitor weather forecasts and pavement temperature. Even before the snow starts to fall, crews swing into action and work continuously until the storm is over.

When Roads are Salted & Plowed

Road Type When does the City start salting? How many hours does it take to salt each round?* When does the City start plowing? How many hours does it take to plow each round?*
Expressways (Don Valley Parkway & Gardiner Expressway) When snow first accumulates 2 hours 2.5 cm 2 hours
Major roads, transit routes and streets with hills When snow first accumulates 4 hours 5 cm 6-8 hours
Residential streets When snow first accumulates 8 hours 8 cm 14 hours

*It may take multiple rounds to clear a road due to ongoing snowfall.

Direct Liquid Application (brine)

In advance of snow or ice, anti-ice trucks will apply salt brine to expressways, hills and bridges. People who drive should always keep a safe distance behind the brine trucks. You can tell where salt brine has been applied by the grey lines left by the salt on the road surface.

Initiation Level Maximum Operating Time Required Outcome
Expressway As required 6 hours Visible salt residue
Arterials As required 6 hours Visible salt residue
Collector As required 6 hours Visible salt residue

Salting Operations

Initiation Level Maximum Operating Time Required Outcome
Expressway < 2.5 cm 2 hours Bare pavement
Arterials < 5 cm 4 hours Bare pavement
Collector < 8 cm 4 hours Centre bare
Local Roads < 8 cm 8 hours Safe and passable
On-road Cycle Lanes Same as adjacent roadway Safe and passable
Laneways 24 hours from end of snowfall Safe and passable

Plowing Operations

Initiation Level Maximum Operating Time Required Outcome
Expressway 2.5 cm 2 hours Bare pavement
Arterials 5 cm 6 hours Bare pavement
Collector 8 cm 8 hours Centre bare
Local Roads 8 cm 14 hours Safe and passable
Windrow Clearing Same as adjacent roadway plus 2 hours Safe and passable
On-road Cycle Lanes Same as adjacent roadway Safe and passable

Combined Salting & Plowing Operations

Initiation Level Maximum Operating Time Required Outcome
Sidewalks 2 cm 12 hours Safe and passable
Bus Stops & Pedestrian Crossovers 2 cm 16 hours Safe and passable
Separated Cycle Tracks & Multi-use Paths 2 cm 8 hours Bare pavement
Hand Crews Same as work area

Required Outcome Definitions

Residential street after snow clearing has some snow on the road surface.
Example of a “safe and passable” residential street after snow clearing.
  • Bare pavement: denotes fully cleared snow from a driving surface.
  • Centre bare: indicates 2.5 m of snow is cleared from the centre of a driving surface.
  • Safe and passable: a road surface that is free from as much ice and snow as is practical and may be traveled safely at reasonable speed.

windrow clearing machine clears a three metre section of a driveway opening.Plows with special blades clear the openings of about 262,000 driveways within about two hours of residential street plowing being completed. Plowing of residential streets begins at 8 cm of snow accumulation. Remember that it can take up to 14 hours after the snow stops falling for plows to finish clearing residential streets.

The level of service for windrow clearing also shows:

  • Windrow plows are to open a three metre wide opening, sufficient for a small car to pass safely. There will also be some residual snow left in the driveway that the home/property owner will need to clear.
  • The windrow must be at least 25 cm high.

Plows that clear ‘windrows’ can only operate where is no on-street parking, roads are wide and there are no other obstructions.

Winter Contracts

City Council approved 11 consolidated contracts to deliver winter maintenance services for all roads, bikeways and sidewalks within a precise geographic zone. The 11 new contracts began November 2022 and will continue for seven years, with three additional single option years. The City’s new contracts use an industry-leading, customer-focused approach and are designed to deliver a number of improvements and innovations.

City Council Staff Reports & Member Motions

2023

2022

2021