SASKATOON — The City of Saskatoon's snow crews are gearing up for the coming winter weather, as they plan to keep everyone moving around streets and sidewalks. The city is hoping Saskatoon will experience the typical winter when it comes to snow grading and removal.
It is still fresh on the minds of many residents of last year’s almost 40-centimetre snow fall that kept people at home for days. That was the first year in decades that snow was graded and removed from all residential streets by city crews.
Now that the city is back to “snow-rmal,” please remember that snow grading and removal on all residential streets is not in the budget for normal Saskatoon winters. When it snows more than five centimetres, a Snow Event is declared, and contractor graders join the city fleet to grade all priority streets within 72 hours.
There are three types of priority streets that determine the order of snow grading:
• Priority 1 streets get plowed first. That’s vital stuff like freeways, major arterials and bridges.
• Priority 2 streets get graded second. These are the arterial roads with double-lanes and bus routes, like Clarence Avenue.
• Priority 3 streets are completed last. These streets take you through your neighbourhood like Louise Avenue, Howell Avenue and Main Street.
Following every significant snowfall, city-facility sidewalks, Meewasin Trail, park pathways with street lighting, pathways along freeways and arterials, and bridge walkways are graded within 48 hours.
Visit saskatoon.ca/snow to learn about snow grading after a snow event and search your address on the priority street snow grading map using the magnifying glass.
