Neighbourhood street grading ongoing: snow piles in residential neighbourhoods to be left as spring melt nears

The City of Saskatoon recently received in excess of 55 cm of snow accumulation within a six day-span, including more than 35 cm of snow this past weekend. This prompted the City to activate the Roadways Emergency Response Plan (ERP), which includes a snow grading and removal program across the entire city. The plan is activated when more than 25 cm of snow falls and streets are impassable for light vehicles. 

Priority street grading throughout Saskatoon is now complete, far outpacing the 96 hour-timeline identified in the ERP. Snow grading in residential neighbourhoods and industrial areas is underway ahead of schedule and is expected to take up to six days to complete. For a list of neighbourhoods where grading will take place visit saskatoon.ca/snow. The list is continuously updated as the City assesses the progress of grading operations.  

Grading on streets in residential and industrial areas will also reduce the potential for rutting once temperatures begin to fluctuate. 

After local streets in residential neighbourhoods are complete: 

• Crews have started to address many tall snow piles along the roadways where sightlines may be reduced. Drivers should proceed with caution near intersections and crosswalks.  

• Crews can start addressing alley access; problematic alleys may be addressed sooner pending available resources. 

The last phase of the snowstorm response will involve partial implementation of the Phase 5 of the ERP. Snow piles will only be removed from Priority 1 streets. Snow removal on Priority 1 streets is expected to begin on Monday March 11 and should take approximately two weeks. Snow removal has already begun in school zones and Business Improvement Districts. Changes in weather may cause these timelines to be adjusted. 

Snow removal on residential streets will not take place unless there is a localized serious safety concern, which will be assessed and addressed, as required. 

What you need to know about the local street grading program:  

• We use an ‘outside- in’ and ‘inside- out’ approach to scheduling street snow grading due to the higher impact in these core and outlying neighbourhoods. We also do our best to schedule around collections to avoid conflicts. Outlying areas are often impacted by drifting snow and wind. Core areas are often higher density, are designed differently than newer areas with less room to park and to put snow.  

• The main priority with this program is to make all streets accessible. Snow will be graded and then piled in nearby parking lanes, boulevards, and medians. The City understands the piles restrict parking and cause visibility concerns. Please proceed around the snow piles with caution and do not let children play on them or dig into them as they are dangerous. 

• If it is possible, residents are encouraged to move vehicles parked on the street prior to grading crews arriving. The City recognizes some vehicles are stuck, therefore vehicles left parked on the street will not be ticketed or towed. The equipment will work around vehicles that are not moved off the street. Residents are encouraged to dig their cars out, asking for help from the community if needed. 

• Parking restriction signage will not be posted in advance of grading in all neighbourhoods, with the exception of some streets that are too narrow for equipment to get down. In cases where such streets have been signed in advance, vehicles will be towed to the closest available parking and residents will be encouraged to check the ‘Find My Vehicle’ app.  

• Residents are encouraged to notify friends, family and neighbours that schedules will be available and updated at saskatoon.ca/snow.  

• For those living in apartments, leaving space for parking lanes won’t always be possible with this much snow, as our priority is improving mobility in the street.  

• We do what we can to keep sidewalks clear, but this amount of snow can make that difficult after clearing driving lanes. Please do not to push or blow snow into the street (Bylaw No. 8463 The Sidewalk Clearing Bylaw, 2005) as it makes grading more difficult and creates a greater risk for vehicles to get stuck. There are some sidewalks that are maintained by the city that as part of Phase 4 to improve mobility of active transportation, these are underway but will take some time to complete.  

• The City’s Customer Care Centre continues to experience a high volume of calls. Please visit saskatoon.ca/snow to find the latest information and help answer many of your questions.   

Stay in the know about snow grading efforts by visiting saskatoon.ca/snow and following the City’s social media channels. Check the latest Snow & Ice Report posted to saskatoon.ca/snowreport. A regularly-updated map of which Priority Streets have been completed is available at saskatoon.ca/prioritystreetsmap.