City asking residents to move parked vehicles as snow removal from side streets begins
City officials announced yesterday that crews have began work to collect snow from residential streets following a record-breaking snowfall of up to 60 centimetres occurring in Toronto last Sunday, Jan. 25.
After removing snow from high-priority areas such as near hospitals and on arterial roads, city crews have now started working on residential roads since last night and will continue over the next couple of days, said Mayor Olivia Chow in a press release on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
“Crews will be going street by street informing residents when the snow removal will happen on their block,” said Chow. “Starting now and over the next 48 hours, our crews will begin picking up and hauling snow away from residential streets.”
Snow management in the City of Toronto operates on a multi-phase approach, beginning with plowing and salting before removal in cases of unusually large snowfalls.
Plowing and removal on city roads is prioritized based on several factors, including road type, quantities of snow accumulation (in centimetres), and estimated completion times.
During heavy snowfalls that restrict traffic flow, interfere with pedestrian infrastructure and parking, and obstruct sightlines, removal crews are assigned to collect the snow and take it to designated snow storage sites.
To address last Sunday’s historic snowfall, Chow said the city has deployed 1,300 city staff and contractors and secured a new snow storage/melting facility in Etobicoke, bringing the city’s total number of facilities to six.
According to city manager Paul Johnson, this year’s snow removal operation should flow more smoothly compared to last year, when some of the city’s melting facilities “weren’t functioning through some of the season.”
Despite operating at better capacity, Johnson said snow removal across the city is a large task that will take several days to complete.
The city has issued a reminder to keep an eye out for orange “No Parking – Snow Removal” signs for those whose vehicles are parked on residential roads.
Snow removal signs are posted 24 to 48 hours in advance of removal. Owners of vehicles parked where these signs are present could be fined upwards of $100 and the vehicles may be towed and impounded at the owner’s expense.
For more information regarding snow removal across Toronto, including removal maps and timelines, head to https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/extreme-winter-weather-response/?WT.rd_id=%2Fwinter.
