Coaldale Town Council has released its municipal snow removal policy and is encouraging residents to get familiar with changes coming to the service.
The policy lets residents know when and where they can expect to see crews operating snow plow and snow removal equipment throughout the 2022-2023 winter season.
“The reason we have this policy is essentially to demystify a process that each winter, many residents have questions about but aren’t necessarily aware of,” said Justin MacPherson, Director of Operational Services.
“When large snow events occur, people naturally want to know why some roads are plowed before others and some not at all. This policy answers those questions and keeps residents in the loop about when and where they can expect to see our crews in the hours and days following a large snowfall,” he adds.
After large snow events, when approximately 10 centimetres of snow has fallen, plowing will commence on a prioritized basis. These priority routes are those used by emergency vehicles and include 16th Ave, 20th Ave, Land O’Lakes Drive, 23rd Ave, 24th Street, and Cottonwood Drive.
Priority 2 routes are those that provide access to local schools and include 8th Street, areas of 11th Street and 22nd Ave, sections of 19th Street, 21st Street, and 30th Street.
Priority 3 and 4 routes are industrial roads and arterial and collector roads, drifted intersections, blocked streets and other designated areas.
“From a governance perspective, it’s important to have policies that shine a light on operational processes that directly affect our residents and businesses”, said Town of Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn. “This way, Town residents can rest assured that no one is arbitrarily deciding which roads get plowed first and which ones last, and that the Town’s resources are being used in strategic well-thought-our manner.”
More information on Coaldale’s Snow Removal Policy can be found at here.