Staff on ‘constant patrol’ for winter weather issues

It’s the time of year when the roads can get dangerous in a hurry, but Fort Erie staff say they’re always on the lookout for potential problems that need their attention.

Responding to a question from Councillor Nick Dubanow at the December 16 council meeting, Director of Engineering Services Kelly Walsh told councillors staff take their winter control responsibilities seriously, and are always a call away if there’s a road in need of clearing.

“There’s a constant patrol out there, we take actions ASAP,” he said.

Dubanow raised the issue after receiving several calls recently, not so much about snow, but ice on roads.

“What’s our process for determining which roads need salting and sanding?” Dubanow asked.

The municipality has a winter operations plan that determines minimum service levels for snow and ice clearing. Depending on the class of road and amount of snow, the Town has committed to sanding and salting roads between eight and 24 hours after they become aware of icy conditions.

Parking lots and alleyways have a 36-hour minimum.

For snow plowing, minimums range from 12 to 24 hours. Snow removal begins after between eight and 12 centimetres have fallen, according to the plan.

They also take into account certain areas, such as hilly stretches, for special attention. For environmental reasons, they avoid salt where possible.

Sidewalks have their own standards.

However, Walsh said these are the absolute minimums.

“The standard that’s set out is a worst case scenario,” he said.

As an example, Walsh said following a recent storm they had staff come in at their regular 7 a.m. start time and had the entire municipality salted and sanded by 9:30, two and a half hours later.

If the municipality doesn’t meet their minimum standards, they could be liable to legal action, Walsh said.

And while they strive to far exceed those minimums, Walsh said residents who have concerns can always call town hall at (905) 871-1600 and either talk to staff or, if it’s after hours, be referred to the Town’s on-call service.

For his part, Dubanow said he used the answering service for the first time recently and was “fairly impressed with how quick they got it to staff.”

“No one likes snow at the best of times, no one likes ice at the best of times,” he said.

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