With snowflakes set to fly any day now, city government is looking to keep from getting buried under the weight of last winter's snow clearing debacle.
This winter, the city is putting into practice several recommendations from Mercury Associates, the consultant contracted to review Prince George's snow clearing and fleet operations this summer.
Among the changes is a series of timeframes for getting roads plowed. Earlier this month, city council approved a new snow and ice control procedure that calls for all city streets to be plowed within five days of the end of a snowfall.
"Priority 1 and Priority 2 [streets] at the end of the snowfall have a 48-hour completion time and for the Priority 3s [mainly residential roads] it's 72 hours after the Priority 1 and 2 [streets] have been completed," said associate public works director Gina Layte Liston.
The first and second priority roads are downtown streets, bus routes, main arterials, priority hills, the hospital district and civic facility entrances, parking lots and pathways.
"It's all very weather dependent," Layte Liston said, "but we feel the for the work that we have been completing with regards to the snow equipment - the rental of additional equipment and some retainers for some of the very specialized equipment - that will allow us to complete it within those timeframes."
The city will have four full operations working to clear snow, she said. This includes 12 graders, truck plows and sidewalk machines.
Equipment will be outfitted with tracking systems for staff to "determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the snow routes," Layte Liston said.
Keeping track of the snow routes will also be easier for residents. In addition to posting updates on the city's website (which can be accessed directly through www.princegeorge.ca/snow) and social media accounts, residents can also register for an e-notify system to get email and text message alerts.
"It will let people know, most likely, what priority streets we're on, what's been completed in the last 24 hour period and any information... about parking restrictions," Layte Liston said.
City council also approved a new bylaw last month outlining specific snow and ice control routes where vehicles can't park or stop to ease snow plowing.
Enforcing the new bylaw is gong to be a co-operative effort between public works and the bylaw departments, said Layte Liston, adding it may be that enforcement officers head out on streets before snow plows to ensure the roads are clear.
"But we'll see how things are going this year," she said.
