Time to change snow-clearing policy, snow plow association says

When the snow melts in Winnipeg an unwelcomesurprise sits beneath broken curbs and crumbling boulevards.

While a new report is looking for possible solutions to the cycle of snow and repair, workers behind the wheel of the snowplows say it's time to change a policy calling for curb-to-curb clearing.

Chris Lorenc is the president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association,which represents snow-clearing contractors in Winnipeg. He said people should relate it to when they shovel their own driveways after a giant snowfall and how difficult it can be.

"You don't know when you are moving that snow blower or the shovel when you are going to come across a raised paving stone or a broken or fractured piece of concrete until you actually hit it," he said.

"Now put yourself behind the controls of a 25-tonne piece of heavy equipment operating typically in darkened conditions or snowfall or blizzard conditions, where really all you have is a sense of feel for where the blade is in relation to the curb and it becomes a challenge."

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Mother Nature brought two large snow dumps during a fairly mild winter making the problem worse than the year before, Lorenc said.

"This year there was a fair amount of damage that was caused to curbs and boulevards largely because prior to the first snowfall we didn't have a full freeze up and that simply enables more damage than would normally be the case," Lorenc said.

Generally in the fall season there are a lot of frost cycles where grass, soil and even the curb freeze, but last December there were unusually high temperatures before the city was blanketed in a thick layer of snow. That meansinfrastructure was more susceptible to damage, Lorenc said.

It leaves a hefty price tag for contractors and the city. If contractors damage infrastructure they have to cover the cost of repair; the city covers damage caused by its crews. Private contractors do54 per cent of the clearing, Lorenc said.

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No perfect answer

There isn't a perfect answer to the curb conundrum, Lorenc said, but he would like to see "proximity to the curb" as the policy instead. That would require a better relationship with city inspectors who would go in and say when contractors need to get closer.

The city is considering that option for a report due inSeptember. Marty Morantz, chair of the infrastructure renewal and public works committee, tabled a motion to explore innovative alternatives for snow clearing, sanding, salting and spring cleanup operations in January. It includesanalyzing the curb-to-curb clearing policy.

"The reality is the curbs are torn up this year. I think it's mainly as a result of the fact that we had two enormous snow events within a few weeks of each other," Morantz said.

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He added the city needs to look for something reasonable to proactively protect the infrastructure. However, Morantz added, not having curb-to-curb could potentially result in safety issues, for example for cyclists.

South WinnipegSt. Norbert Coun. Janice Lukes said there are worries that cutting the curb-to-curb policy could cause further issues for pedestrians and buses.

"We need to ensure our corridors are open so that we can carry the traffic safety but the fact of the matter is we do have old curbs," Lukes said.

She said she understands it can be tough for operators to see the curb clearing in snowy conditions but even if the costs land on private contractors, they will be carried onto the taxpayer the next time snow-clearing contracts come up.

"It really boils down to working with the construction folks," she said, adding that means teamwork with the contractors, city and inspectors.

"[It might be the] best one you can do is closest to the curb and really having diligent street inspectors."

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Bad year for damage, but not the worst

While the report will lay out some options and recommendations, the city is always talking with the snow clearing industry to find best practices, said Jim Berezowski, manager of streets maintenance for the City of Winnipeg. But in the end it is up to Mother Nature.

"The thing is that there was a reason why a policy changed years ago," he said. "That policy was changed to curb-to-curb for a reason and that was to provide a repeatable accomplishment measurement for people providing that service."

The spring 2017 season probably looked worse because of the previous mild winters, he added. So far this year there have been about 2,080 snow-removal or snow-plow damage calls to the city after about 145 centimetres of snow fell.

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In 2016 there were just over 1,500 reports of damage, afterabout 123 centimetres of snow fell over the winter, and in 2015 it was 1,200, with about 72 centimetres of snow.

However, in 2014 there were around 2,800 calls and the year before there were nearly 2,200. Both of those years saw more than 159 centimetres of snow during the winter season.

"When you are receiving a couple centimetres snowfall each event, you can see all your right of way infrastructure, it's profile, but when you [have] a 30-plus centimetres snow event you really don't know exactly where that curb actually is until you make contact with it," he said.

While he looks forward to the snow-clearing report, Berezowski said the snow and repair cycle is part of living in a winter city.