SASKATOON - The City of Saskatoon says city and contractor crews completed the priority street snow grading from the first snow event of the season just in time to begin responding to the second big snowfall.
The city says snowfall accumulation is approximately 20 centimetres since Saturday afternoon, with Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasting up to 30 centimetres of total accumulation by the end of this weekend.
Today, snow crews are focused on priority streets, including Circle Drive, major roadways, bridge decks and intersections. Sanding is being done to improve traction.
The city is monitoring conditions closely and may activate the Roadways Emergency Response Plan (ERP) if snow accumulation reaches 25 cm this weekend and light vehicles can no longer navigate city streets.
More snow is expected throughout Sunday. Crews will continue working around the clock to address accumulation and drifting.
The city says you can help by:
Avoiding Non-Essential Travel: Try to stay at home if you can and avoid travel so crews can keep clearing the snow. If you must drive, ensure your vehicle is equipped with winter tires and allow extra time to reach your destination safely.
Helping Crews Work Efficiently: Avoid parking on priority streets where snow clearing equipment is active.
Once the snow stops falling, the status of snow clearing throughout the city can be monitored through the Priority Street Snow Grading Map. Learn about winter road maintenance at saskatoon.ca/snow. Stay in the know by checking the latest Snow & Ice Report posted to saskatoon.ca/SnowReport.
Transit service affected
Saskatoon Transit is operating today; however, the City of Saskatoon says customers are advised to expect delays of up to 20 minutes or longer for fixed-route service. Due to deep snow accumulation on the roads, bus operators may stop in the driving lane to pick up passengers and not pull into bus stops to avoid getting stuck.
Several detours are in place already around streets where there’s a risk of a bus getting stuck. These are identified as Snow Event Detours in service alert messages.
Stay informed with the real-time mobile apps, transit and Google or visit saskatoontransit.ca/service-alerts for updates on routes that are delayed longer than 20 minutes and for Snow Event Detours. If you can’t use these tools, please call our customer service centre at 306-975-3100 an hour before your trip for an update.
Access Transit
Access Transit customers are strongly encouraged to reschedule non-urgent trips today and Monday. A trip may be cancelled if the street or sidewalk/path to the pick-up location is full of snow, for the safety of the customer and operator.
Customers should also prepare for delays as operators navigate traffic and road conditions. In the event a paratransit bus gets stuck in deep snow, onboard customers will be required to wait.
Customer service phone lines are busy for both Access Transit and fixed-route and extra staff is on hand to handle calls as quickly as possible
