Freezing temperatures and leftover snow make for ‘rough commute’ Tuesday
Posted February 3, 2015 5:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The roads are starting to clear of snow from Monday’s blast of winter weather, but the lingering cold caused headaches for Tuesday morning’s commute.
Toronto was hit with 22 centimetres of snow by Monday afternoon and the city has been under an extreme cold weather alert since Sunday — the ninth one covering 14 days this year.
Aging equipment caused delays for GO Transit, starting with the first train to leave Aldershot Station on GO’s Lakeshore West line. The 5:07 a.m. train operated express from Oakville due to a “weather-related track switch problem,” the agency said in a tweet.
Switch, signal, and mechanical problems caused a ripple-effect of cancellations and delays across the transit network throughout the morning.
The transit agency was expecting a “fairly rough commute” in the freezing temperatures, GO spokesperson Aiken Anne Marie Aikins said on Monday.
On Monday, the snow and cold caused major delays for GO passengers due to freezing switches, doors, and even the agency’s website.
Real-time updates on delays and cancellations were still not available on GO’s website on Tuesday morning.
GO cancelled some trips on Monday evening to reduce congestion on the lines.
On the TTC, streetcars on the 502 Downtowner, 503 Kingston Road and 511 Bathurst lines will be replaced by buses for Tuesday morning’s commute due to temperatures around -15 C to start the day.
Extreme cold temperatures cause moisture in the streetcar brake lines to freeze, forcing them out of service, the TTC said.
Major roads were plowed by Monday evening and the city continued to plow side roads and sidewalks into Tuesday while salt trucks tried to stay ahead of the ice.
The city hopes to wrap up cleaning operations on roads by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, with sidewalks to be completed around 6 p.m.
Multiple collisions and fender benders were reported across the city as snow and ice continued to cause problems on the roads, including a multi-vehicle crash that sent five people to hospital.
Temperatures are expected to warm up slightly, with a high of -5 C, according to 680News meteorologist Jill Taylor. CityNews meteorologist is forecasting a high near -6 C.
All of this is ahead of another round of snow in the forecast for Wednesday, when the city could see two to four centimetres.
