'Polar vortex' cold, ice storm clean out Toronto, GTA budgets, pockmark streets with fresh potholes

National Post
March 11, 2014
By Kelsey Rolfe

This winter was Toronto’s coldest in 20 years, packing a devastating ice storm and a “polar vortex,” and it has hit Toronto and the surrounding municipalities right in their budgets. Representatives from Toronto, Markham, Mississauga and Vaughan said the cities have all overspent their winter control budgets.

“We don’t have any money left for [2014] fall storms,” said Gord Landon, a Markham regional councillor. “This has been the coldest winter in a long time.”

Markham allotted $6-million for winter expenses in 2014, but spent all of it in the first two months of the year, Mr. Landon said.

Markham had to expand its budget to $6.3-million, and increased its taxes by 2.49 per cent, instead of the 1.9 per cent it had originally planned for, to cover the extra costs, he said.

“We budgeted for four significant storms from January to April this year,” Mr. Landon said. “To date we’ve had six storm events since January 1st.” A significant storm is anything greater than 7.5 centimeters of snow.

Martin Powell, Mississauga’s commissioner of transportation and works, said the city spent about $14.2-million for winter costs from Nov. 2013 to March 2014, $1-million more than it budgeted for.

Mr. Powell said Mississauga will dip into its reserve fund to cover the extra costs.

Toronto overspent its $82-million snow removal budget by $1.9-million in 2013, and has already spent approximately half its 2014 snow removal budget in the first two months of this year, said Trevor Tenn, the manager of road operations in Toronto.

In the past, the city’s spent only a quarter of the budget in this time frame. Still, Mr. Tenn said it’s nothing to worry about. “We’re halfway through the season,” he said, “so [the expenses are] on par.”

Toronto water pipes, buried about 1.3-metres below ground, generally are safe from frost. But this year’s bitter cold seeped below the frost line and caused exploding pipes all over town. Between Jan. 1 and March 4, Toronto Water repaired 831 water main breaks, more than half the total for all of 2013. Toronto Water did not respond to questions about how that will affect its water budget.

In 2013 Vaughan city spent $12.3-million on winter costs, $1.3-million more than was in the budget. Barbara Cribbett, Vaughan’s city manager, said she anticipates the costs for January and February will come in at $4.8-million, nearly half the city’s budget of $10.9-million for 2014.

The heaving freeze-thaw cycle from our icy winter has also pockmarked city streets with a moonscape of potholes. Consider these numbers: From Jan. 1 to March 4 2013, Toronto filled about 26,600 potholes and had 2,200 service calls to 311 for pothole fillings. This year, the numbers almost tripled: in the same time frame in 2014, the city has filled 66,500 potholes and made 5,200 service calls.

“We’re working longer hours to get the potholes done,” Mr. Tenn said.

Toronto budgets $3.5-million for potholes every year. At this time in 2013, $650,000 of it had been spent; this year, the city has already spent $1.25-million.

Mr. Tenn remains optimistic. “It’s still early in the season. We may have a very good fall, and hopefully that won’t cause us to do a lot of pothole repairs in the fall.”

Mississauga is experiencing a similar influx. The amount of potholes this year is “definitely up,” Mr. Powell said, though he couldn’t give an estimate. “We’re expecting more.”

Mississauga budgeted $40,000 in 2014 for the materials needed to do pothole repairs. Mr. Powell said the city hasn’t used all of it yet, “but we’re expecting that we will. We’re going to have to do a lot of repair work.”