Storm cleanup to cost city $500,000

windsorstar.com
Feb. 2, 2015
By Derek Spalding

Windsor residents could be waiting until Wednesday before plows clear their streets of snow as public works crews continue their lengthy clean-up after a record-setting winter storm.

Many commuters throughout Windsor and Essex County dug their way out of their driveways Monday morning after a wicked blast of snow made many residential streets impassable.

Sunday’s record-setting snow storm didn’t just wallop Windsor’s streets, it also dented the city’s pocket book.

Cleaning up the 37 centimetres of white stuff will likely cost the city $500,000, from an allocated snow-removal budget of $2.8 million.

“We have been rolling full out, so our guys are pretty tired,” executive director of operations Mark Winterton said Monday about the ongoing operation which costs at least $10,000 an hour.

The record snowfall cancelling flights at Windsor airport, shut down some city transit buses and closed all schools in the region. Most municipalities worked into the night clearing main thoroughfares before getting to residential streets early Monday morning, but the full cleanup could go into Wednesday, explained Windsor’s maintenance manager Phong Nguy.

“The main arterial roads are almost done, we’re just cleaning them up now,” he said. “We’ve been doing residential streets since 8 a.m. (Monday) ... but that will take some time.”

Clean-up crews had a slightly different mandate this year. Workers would normally completely clear arterial roads before moving into residential areas, but this year, Nguy tried a new approach.

Once the bulk of the snow removal was done on areas like the E.C. Row Expressway and other main thoroughfares like Wyandotte Street and Tecumseh Road, he divided the crews and sent half to get a head start on residential clean-up.

“We’re fine tuning our process, trying to give the residents a little break so they can get out into the arterials,” Nguy said.

Windsor responded to the storm with a fleet of 24 plows and 80 crew members working since 3 a.m. Sunday, while the municipalities of Tecumseh and Lakeshore asked the public to remove all vehicles from roadways to make way for snow removal teams.

Lakeshore actually declared a snow emergency, which was expected to be lifted Tuesday, according to Mayor Tom Bain.

“Our crews are out there working tirelessly,” he said, adding that snow drifting is a big problem. “Today the north-south roads are blowing clear, our east-west roads are the ones plugging up on us.”

The storm had a widespread impact on transportation. The quick dump of snow cancelled all flights from Windsor airport to Toronto after 5 p.m. on Sunday and many more incoming flights. Delays were still expected Monday morning as crews continued clearing runways, according to a news release from the city.

Officials in the Town of Essex were so concerned about roads, they cancelled all Monday night meetings, including both closed and regular council meetings and a public meeting on marijuana production regulations.

Transit buses were shut down completely in Tecumseh, while buses in Windsor offered limited service. A statement from Transit Windsor indicated all routes are open, but are being serviced with fewer buses.

“Transit officials are running the buses at longer intervals in order to provide the best coverage possible,” according to city staff.

Both school boards in Windsor-Essex declared a snow day Monday, cancelling all classes. Staff at the Greater Essex County District School board and Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board were not required to report to work.

Classes at St. Clair College and The University of Windsor were also cancelled.

The slow clean-up has also postponed waste removal services in Windsor and Lakeshore. In Windsor, all residential garbage and recycling collection will be delayed one day for the rest of the week.

Anyone with alley collection is asked to place both garbage and recycling in the front of their homes on the curb all this week. Regular collection is expected to resume on Monday.

Residents got a bit of a break from potential snow-removal fines. Because there was so much snow, bylaw officers were unable to drive through residential nieghbourhoods looking for anyone who violated city regulations.

The city can hand out $5,000 fines for anyone who doesn’t shovel the sidewalk in front of their homes.

“The enforcement officers aren’t even driving down those side roads because they’ll probably be getting stuck too,” said Ann Kalinowski, manager of bylaw enforcement.

But, wherever they can, bylaw officers are warning residents that they are not allowed to shovel snow onto city streets, another violation that warrants a fine of up to $5,000.

Kalinowski hopes most residents do their part and shovel their portions of the sidewalks by at least Tuesday morning, when officers will be out issuing tickets.

The storm had some impact on the auto sector. Evne though the Windsor Assembly Plant ran all three shifts, some area plants had to make due with far fewer employees.

“We had about a dozen employees that called in and said they were digging out,” said Ted Polewski, president of Eagle Press and Equipment Co. Ltd. “Most were not coming in today. Also we had issues unloading trucks due to the drifting in our parking lot.”

Across the border, the storm forced some cancellations of work shifts at Detroit-area auto plants, according to Associated Press.

First shifts at all area Fiat Chrysler assembly plants were down Monday morning due to high absenteeism.

Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn Truck, Michigan Assembly and Romeo Engine plants also are closed. General Motors cancelled first shifts at its assembly plants in Lansing, Delta Township and Orion and its Toledo Transmission plant.