Snow Plowing

The Roads Team is responsible for plowing snow on major roads within our city boundaries during a snowfall. They tackle primary routes first with the goal of having them cleared for the morning commute. This means that they will start plowing in the middle of the night if necessary. After primary routes have been plowed, crews move onto secondary roadways.

View the interactive map below for more details.

Snow Route Map
Roadway Priorities and Standards
What You Can Do
FAQs

Snow Route Map

Snow plow route priority map from appendix A of the winter Maintenance policy. Red is priority one,

Roadway Priorities and Standards

Winter Maintenance Policy 501

The document provides guidelines for winter maintenance operations within the approved budget and the terms of this policy.

Winter Maintenance Procedure 500

Please note: the procedure is listed after the policy, starting on PDF page 5.
The procedure lists:

Winter Maintenance Procedure Sections
Roadway Priorities and Standards	Sidewalk / Pathway Snow and Ice Clearing
Snow Plowing	Parking Bans
Sanding, Salting, and Ice Control	Snow On-Call Schedule
Snow Removal	Public Relations
Sand and Salt Storage	Unsafe Conditions

City Council has set six (6) priority ratings for roads as follows and as shown in Appendix A of the Winter Maintenance Policy:

Priority 1: Emergency Routes, Arterial and Industrial Roads and School Zones

Cleared in twenty-four (24) hours after the end of a snow event.
Roads will be plowed to remove snow as close to the road surface as possible.
Snow removal when snow on the road or windrows (snow piles created from plowing) exceed one (1) metre in height, blocks flow of traffic or sight lines.
Ice control will be provided at major intersections, railway crossings, school zones, hills, curves and bridges.

Priority 2: Collector Roads

Cleared forty-eight (48) hours after the end of a snow event.
Roads will be plowed to remove snow as close to the road surface as possible.
Snow removal when snow on the road or windrows (snow piles created from plowing) exceed one (1) metre in height, blocks flow of traffic or sight lines.
Ice control will be provided at major intersections, railway crossings, school zones, hills, curves and bridges.

Priority 3: Rural Roads

Cleared forty-eight (48) hours after the end of a snow event.
Road will be plowed to remove snow, but varying depths may be left in accordance with what is required to minimize driving difficulties and loss of surface material.
Snow removal may begin to provide unrestricted travel lanes, windrows removed if only they exceed storage capacities, cause impassable drifting, begin to interfere with lane width or create potential drainage issues.
Ice control will be provided at intersections, railway crossings, hills and curves.

Priority 4: City-Owned Parking Lots

Plowed after winter maintenance activities have concluded seventy-two (72) hours after the end of a snow event.
Paved Parking areas: plowed to remove snow as close as possible to road surface.
Unpaved Parking areas: plowed to remove snow, but snow of varying depths may be left in accordance with what is required to minimize driving difficulties and loss of surface material.
Current weather conditions will govern when the required maintenance is performed on parking lots.
The prime objective is to schedule this winter maintenance to be completed prior to 8:30 am on regular work days or as resources permit after meeting the objectives of Priority 1-3 routes.
Snow removal operations will be initiated when parking is compromised and ice control will be provided as required.
City-owned parking areas to be maintained are shown in Appendix A.

Priority 5: Local Residential Roads

Roads shall be plowed and have winter maintenance activities concluded when the road is rendered impassable, extenuating circumstances exist or as determined by the Roads Supervisor.
Roads may be bladed flat to minimize rutting but snowpack of varying depths will be left in accordance with what is required to minimize driving difficulty when extenuating circumstances exist.
Snow removal operations will be limited to providing for adequate sight lines when the road is rendered impassable or extenuating circumstances exist
Ice control will be provided on intersections, playground zones and curves.

Priority 6: Complaints and Requests

Complaints and requests received will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation and the judgement of the Roads Supervisor.

What You Can Do

What You Can Do

Check out our Winter Maintenance Policy and procedure.
- Please note: the procedure is listed after the policy, on PDF page 5.
As per our Snow Removal Bylaw, you are required to clear your sidewalk of snow within 48 hours of snowfall. Snow is not to be shoveled onto the road.
Drive carefully when passing or following the plow trucks. We appreciate your cooperation and respect for everyone’s safety.
Winter roads can be slick and dangerous. Remember to drive to the conditions. Transport Canada and Alberta Transportation (Safe Roads) have helpful websites with safe winter driving tips.

Snow Route Parking Bans

Sign up to receive Voyent Alerts on your cell phone or by email when a Snow Route Parking Ban is issued.
For more information about parking bans, visit the Snow Routes & Parking Bans page.