Georgina good to go for snow: what you need to know about winter maintenance

Winter and snow are here to stay. Snow maintenance in Georgina is a million dollar plus operation.

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 9, 2019
Amanda Persico

What makes for a successful winter maintenance plan?

Timing, equipment and weather reports. And Georgina has it down to a science.

Here’s what you need to know about how the town keeps your roads clear.

Whose road is it anyway?

There are three levels of government plowing in Georgina on any given snow day, each with its own schedule and maintenance threshold.

The region is responsible for plowing Ravenshoe, Old Homestead, Baseline, Metro, Park, Kennedy, Black River, Dalton, Pefferlaw and Victoria roads, as well as Weirs Sideroad, Woodbine and Warden avenues, The Queensway and portions of Morton and Glenwoods Avenue.

And the Ministry of Transportation is responsible for plowing highways 404 and 48.

The town is responsible for all other roads and sidewalks.

Lost shaker of salt:
When it comes to traction control, Georgina spreads a mixture of sand and specialty-treated salt.

The salt is treated with a sugarlike coating, making it stick better to the road --less salt is used and less material is scattered and lost.

The town uses about 200 kilograms of the treated salt mixture per kilometre cleared, compared to about 600 kg of regular road salt.

With less sand/salt mixture being used, trucks stay out on the roads three times longer and reload less often.

Three for the price of one:
Snowplows serve double and triple duty --as snowplow, salt/sand spreader and a second plow.

Georgina’s snowplows are equipped with an underbelly plow that collects more snow --two snowplows on one truck.

The more snow pushed off the road, the more effective the sand/salt mixture is at sticking to the pavement.

Plows are also attached to a skilike blade, preventing the scraping of steel on pavement.

What’s plowed first:
The town plows its roads based on priority, with primary high-traffic streets given at the top of the list, followed by secondary and residential routes. Streets with steep hills and curves as well as those on a school bus route are also on the top of the list.

From start to finish, each of the town’s 14 snowplow routes takes about seven hours to clear.

It’s all about the numbers:
Starting in mid-November, Georgina’s roads are monitored 24 hours a day.

Between October and March, winter maintenance staff receive localized weather reports and forecasts three times a day.

Trucks do a first pass of salt/sand when the snow reaches between one to two centimetres; snowplows pass again when snow accumulation reaches between five and seven cm.

Get out the way:
Driving a snowplow takes a certain skill: there are numerous switches and buttons, not to mention the steep view of the road.

Plowing tight to the curb line is most efficient, pushing the most amount of snow out of the roadway.

Parked cars and scattered recycling boxes pose a challenge for the large machines. When the town declares a snow event, residents are warned to get their cars off the road.

Come garbage collection day, scattered blue boxes and garbage bins makes plowing in a straight line a dodgy stop-and-start operation.

Another challenge for snowplow operators are basketball nets that weren’t put away; some plows can’t even clear the net.