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The City maintains main roads, bus routes, bike routes and multi-use trails, residential roads and alleys throughout the winter.
When it snows, the City has a plan to efficiently clear roadways, protected bike lanes, multi-use trails and city-maintained sidewalks and bus stops.
While snow is falling, equipment and crews:
When snow stops falling, the Snow Clearing Priority Plan begins.
Subscribe to receive parking ban, snow clearing and street sweeping notifications.
See where the plows and snow clearing equipment are during and after snow events.
Includes priority levels of active pathways and the bike network.
Details on the snow clearing service levels for priority roads, residential streets and sidewalks.
| Road Priority | Service Level | Parking Ban Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Priority 1: Freeways, arterial roadways, business districts |
Maintain to a bare pavement standard within 5 days following the end of snowfall. |
Phase 1 Ban: The City clears major roads, core business areas including bus routes. Lasts: Approximately 5 days |
| Priority 1: Alleys/back lanes in business districts |
Maintain to 5 cm snowpack within 5 days following the end of snowfall. | Phase 1 |
| Priority 2: Collector roadways, transit park and ride access roads |
Maintain to a bare pavement standard within 5 days following the end of snowfall. | Phase 1 |
| Priority 3: Industrial roadways |
Maintain to a bare pavement standard within 5 days following the end of snowfall. | As needed |
| Priority 3: Rural roadways |
Maintain a level snowpack within 5 days following the end of snowfall. | Phase 2 |
| Priority 4: Residential roadways and alleys/back lanes |
Maintain to 5 cm snowpack and completed within 10 days once a residential blading cycle is initiated. |
Phase 2 Once Phase 1 is complete, the ban will shift to residential and industrial area roads. No parking on these roads before and during snow clearing. Lasts: 10 days overall Impacts to individual communities expected to be less - approximately 3 days. |
| Priority | Service Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Priority 1 |
| Maintain to a bare pavement standard within 1 day following the end of snowfall. |
| Priority 1 |
| Maintain to a bare pavement standard within 1 day following the end of snowfall. |
| Priority 2 |
| Maintain to a safe and passable surface beginning at the end of snowfall and completed within 3 days following the end of snowfall. |
| Priority 3 |
| Maintain to a safe and passable surface within 14 days following the end of snowfall. |
| Priority 4 |
| Completed when resources allow |
Several methods are used to achieve a safe and reliable mobility network. The goal is to use the right tool and method for the current and forecasted condition.
Plows and Graders
The City uses both front and underbelly-mounted plows. Front mount plows allow for clearing of roads. Underbelly plows are used to break up snowpack. Graders are the most powerful pieces of equipment within our winter fleet, and most effective at snow removal. Graders are used during major snowfalls to clear main roadways.
Hand Tools - Shovels, brooms, blowers
In tight, small or awkward spaces such as stairs, sidewalks, trails and bus shelters, basic shovels and brooms are used by hand crews. These tools are able to clear hard to reach or tight spaces.
Salt, Sand and Chip
The City applies a mix of sand/salt pre-wet with calcium chloride to roads to maintain traction and/or melt snow and ice. The exact mix varies according to temperature and conditions and can change quickly in response to shifting weather conditions.
Chip is typically only used at very low temperatures in snow-packed areas to provide traction. The City tries to use as little of this as possible.
Anti-Icing
Calcium chloride brine with a corrosion inhibitor is currently in use for several purposes:
A windrow is a pile of snow on the side of a road that was created by plowing or blading. After clearing residential roads, windrows of 30 cm or more that block driveways are cleared by the City, with enough access for one vehicle to pass through the windrow, approx. 3.5m. Windrows less than 30 cm that block driveways are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner.
City crews, when plowing or blading roads, try their best to ensure that windrows do not encroach on sidewalks. In some cases when there is a lot of snow, some may spill onto sidewalks. The City is provided some leeway by Bylaw Enforcement in this regard, and can encroach on sidewalks approximately 0.5 metres. However, if the spillover impacts use of the sidewalk itself, crews are required to bring in equipment to clear it away.
Windrows that are consistently 30 cm or more in height, left behind blocking driveways, will be cleared by the City to level snowpack within 12 hours of windrow placement. If windrows are blocking sidewalks or have caused a safety concern, please call 311 to report it to the City or use the 311 app on mobile or desktop, crews will be sent out within 1-2 days.
Windrows may lead to less on-street parking. Residents are encouraged to park on their property, for example, in driveways or garages.
The City will clear windrows where required from:
Culs-de-sac are cleared outside of a parking ban, crews stack and remove snow. This may take up to four weeks.
Protected bike lanes are cleared within the first 24 hours as part of our first priority for snow clearing.
Painted bike lanes are cleared at the same time as adjacent main roads to ensure all travellers on busy routes are entitled to the same road maintenance standards, regardless of mode. Painted bike lanes are not cleared to bare pavement, but to the same level of service as the road they are on.
Anti-icing brine is only applied to protected bike lanes.
| Telephone | In Edmonton: 311 Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311 |
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| TTY | 780-944-5555 |
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