THUNDER BAY – The first major snowfall is always the toughest for city road crews to clear.
When it’s wet and heavy, like the 17 centimetres that fell over Thunder Bay overnight Thursday, it makes it that much more difficult.
Brad Adams, the city’s general manager its roads division, asked for patience from the public, as workers continue the arduous task of cleaning up Thunder Bay streets.
“We have all our resources out right now and they’ve been out since 2 a.m. plowing our arterial and collector roadways,” Adams said on Thursday morning.
“At 3 a.m. we had our sidewalk plows go out and do the same thing, the sidewalks on the arterial and collector roadways.”
Adams said the work is taking a little longer than normal, for a couple of reasons.
“We are touching up some of our arterials and collectors still and we’re hoping to get into the local street plowing later this morning or early this afternoon,” Adams said, adding workers have got to be a little more cautious with the first snowfall expected to stick around for longer than a couple of days.
“We don’t have our snow banks established yet, so the operators are just taking their time making sure we don’t damage any infrastructure or equipment to find where the curbs are and establish those snow banks. So that’s kind of slowing us down a bit,” Adams said.
“Plus the weight of the snow and the amount of the snow that we’re pushing, that kind of slows things down.”
Adams said crews also had to hold off in certain areas of the city because of low-hanging hydro wires, overburdened with snow.
“That’s prohibited some of the streets being plowed because we don’t want to pull them down with our equipment,” he said.
“Some streets may have to be addressed later on today.”
Adams said he expects all roads to be cleared in the next couple of days and reminded motorists that calendar parking is being put into effect to allow easier street cleaning during winter weather months.
Thunder Bay Police also issued a caution to motorists, reminding them to slow down on slippery roads.
As of 1:30 p.m. on Thursday police had responded to 10 reported collisions, with more expected to self-reported in the coming days. Police say allow enough time to get to one's destination and take the time to properly clear snow off their vehicles.
See the full police release below:
NEWS RELEASE
THUNDER BAY POLICE SERVICE
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The Thunder Bay Police Service’s Traffic Unit would like to remind motorists to drive with extra caution following the first significant snowfall of the season.
Since the snow began to fall, the service has responded to 10 reported motor vehicle collisions. More collisions are expected to be reported to the Collision Self-Reporting Centre in the coming days.
Motorists are reminded to give themselves enough time to safely get to their destinations. This includes the time required to properly clean the snow off of your vehicles including the windows, lights, roofs and licence plates.
Driving to the road conditions does not necessarily mean driving the posted speed limit, as snow cover and ice may require the vehicle to be driven at slower speeds to safely navigate the streets.
It’s also a good idea to have winter tires on your vehicle and, because air pressure decreases in cold weather, double check the air pressure in your tires. Ensure your windshield wipers are in good condition and that your windshield wiper fluid is filled with freeze resistance fluid.
Motorists are strongly encouraged to keep an emergency kit in their vehicles. These kits should include a blanket, extra hat and gloves, flashlight, snowbrush and ice scraper.
