City Preps For Storm With 10,000 Tonnes Of Salt, 1,100 Snow Removal Machines
Posted January 31, 2011 1:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The city’s fleet of snow removal machines is prepared to drop about 10,000 tonnes of salt and push away what’s expected to be a significant accumulation of snow this week.
A system brewing over Texas is forecast to hit southern Ontario Tuesday night and Wednesday and is expected to leave behind anywhere between 20 to 30 centimetres of snow. Environment Canada issued a winter storm watch for the GTA Monday afternoon.
Toronto’s Transportation Services department has prepped for the storm by topping up salt supplies and servicing plows, director Myles Currie said.
As soon as the flakes start falling, you can expect the city’s salt trucks to start covering main roads, streetcar routes and expressways.
“We’re expecting to do numerous rounds of plowing on expressways and arterial roadways,” Currie told CityNews.ca.
“As the snow starts to dissipate … then we’ll move into the side streets with plowing. We will have salted those at the beginning of the storm.”
Once the storm stops, plowing local roads can take anywhere between 18 to 20 hours. All the side streets should be plowed by Thursday morning or afternoon.
The city will also clear walkways, where possible, with its fleet of 300 sidewalk plows after five centimeters of snow falls, but officials are reminding homeowners that they’re responsible for clearing the paths in front of their property within 12 hours of a storm. Failure to do so could result in a $125 fine. More on that, here.
Senior citizens and people with disabilities can call the city for help clearing sidewalks. For more information, call 416-392-7768 or click here.
