‘Work is ongoing 24 hours a day,’ Toronto snow removal continues after epic storm

Mayor John Tory says the focus is shifting to local roads as city crews continue to dig Toronto out from a historic snowfall that dumped over 50 centimetres in parts of the city on Monday.

The mayor says the ongoing snow removal work will be continuous until it is complete.

“Work is ongoing 24 hours a day until the job is done,” said Tory during an update on Tuesday. “The city has completed multiple rounds of plowing and salting overnight on expressways, major roads, and is starting to tackle local roads.”

“Across the entire road network, the city has completed a combined 11 rounds of plowing on expressways and 14 rounds on major roads.”

Tory says the city has deployed 600 plows, 200 salt trucks and 360 sidewalk plows as crews work to remove snow from all sidewalks, bus stops, pedestrian crossovers and bike trails.

He says the goal is to have a second round of plowing completed on local roads by the end of Tuesday. Residents can see the progress and check local streets at toronto.ca/plowto.

City of #Toronto crews continue tackling smaller local streets. Based on the PlowTO map, this two-person crew (plow plus tractor clearing windrows) is almost done in this #ScarbTO neighbourhood. However, there are still many streets that haven’t been cleared in 12-24 hours. pic.twitter.com/FJyUE3fVWD

— Nick Westoll (@NWestoll) January 18, 2022

The mayor and city officials declared a “major snowstorm condition” on Monday due to the heavy and disruptive snowfall that plagued the city for most of the day.

With the cleanup and removal efforts continuing for another day  residents are still being encouraged to stay home as much as possible.

“Crews are experiencing challenges due to abandoned and parked cars” says Tory.

The city says road users who need to make essential travel should expect significant delays, slippery conditions and poor visibility. Residents are also being encouraged to leave their cars at home on Tuesday and even on Wednesday to allow plowing and snow removal “as quickly as possible.”

“When a major snowstorm condition is declared, parking on roads designated as snow routes is prohibited for a period of 72 hours,” City spokesperson Brad Ross tweeted on Monday. “This allows for the removal of snow banks left by the city’s snowplows, which can restrict traffic flow, interfere with pedestrians and parking, and obstruct sightlines.”

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Designated snow routes are all clearly signed — most are located in the downtown core and they include all streetcar routes. Parking on a designated snow route during a major snow event is subject to a fine of up to $200.

Ross says that the City must gather snow and remove it to designated storage sites under this specific declaration.

“As we announced yesterday, we will be deploying snow removal teams, something we only do in exceptional snow circumstances,” said Tory. “Starting with major roads once plowing operations have been substantially completed.”

The City says the “snow storm condition” could be cancelled sooner than 72 hours or it could be extended longer depending on how much snow needs to be removed. At this time, they anticipate it will likely be extended.

The OPP were once again advising motorists to stay home on Tuesday morning with major highways still reeling from the historic snowfall.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt estimated that as of 11 p.m. on Monday, there were roughly 1,000 motionless transport trucks on Hwy. 401 around Kipling and Islington avenues. Some drivers had been stuck for up to 12 hours as crews work to get them running as fast as possible.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation says maintenance vehicles were deployed within 30 minutes of the start of the storm to spread sand and salt.

“In preparation, MTO’s winter maintenance crews were deployed yesterday evening, prior to the snowfall, and have been operating continuously to clear the roads, get traffic moving and keep drivers safe.  All snowplows continue to be in operation,” Dakota Brasier said in an email.

All GTA school boards — including the Toronto District and Catholic boards — made the collective decision to shutter classrooms once again for Tuesday as the storm clean-up continued.