Let it snow! Georgina snow plows ready to go

Georgina aims to have every road cleared within 16 hours after a significant snowfall

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 6, 2021
Amanda Persico

Snow is here.

And the first snowfall often takes many by surprise.

Not for Georgina’s winter operations crew, which starts preparing for winter well before the snow falls. Planning for the upcoming winter season starts mid-summer.

Snowflake, little snowflake:
The town is responsible for more than 330 kilometres of roads, 140 kilometres of sidewalks and 25 municipal parking lots.

With a budget of about $1.39 million, the town plans for an average 67 snow events each year, which includes both salting and plowing.

When the snow falls, the town aims to have every road cleared within 16 hours after a significant snowfall.

The town is expanding its salt-only pilot project that will see 100 per cent treated salt used on more roads in Keswick and Sutton -- instead of the typical sand/salt mix.

Using salt instead of sand has a number of benefits for residents, the town and the environment, said the town’s operations manager Rob Flindall.

“Residents can expect to see more bare roads this winter,” he said. “And less dirt on cars.”

Not only does using only salt help reduce the amount of sand sediment that flows off the road and into the Lake Simcoe watershed, it’s also a money saver.

Twice as much money is spent in the spring cleaning sand out of catch basins.

Who plows what?:
There are a number of snowplow operators in town -- the Ministry of Transportation is responsible for highways 404 and 48; York Region for Woodbine Avenue and Metro, Dalton, Ravenshoe, Baseline and Pefferlaw roads; and Georgina responsible for all other roads.

Not every road is cleared at the same time nor to the same service level.

Roads with fire stations, high traffic volumes, transit and school bus routes and steep hills are plowed first. Once those roads are cleared, crews move on to other town roads.

Recently, the town traded off McCowan Road to the region for a number of smaller roads, Flindall said.

“McCowan is a challenge; there’s hills and wooded areas,” he said. “Residents on that stretch of McCowan will see significant changes and better service.”

This is also the first step in the town’s long-term plan to transfer ownership of McCowan Road between Ravenshoe and Baseline roads to the region.

Parking is not permitted on most streets between 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. until April 15. And residents are to keep parked cars off town roads for at least 24 hours after a significant snowfall allowing winter maintenance crews enough space to clear the road.

Let it snow:
This year, about 75 per cent of the town’s winter maintenance fleet is contracted, meaning more reliable service and cost savings for the town.

“Those trucks would sit for eight months of the year,” said the town’s roads manger Mike Voss. “We don’t need a dozen trucks the whole year.”

The town is also working toward implementing a track-my-plow option as well as looking at a windrow clearing program for seniors and residents with mobility issues.

For more information, visit georgina.ca/snow.