City digs out after snowstorm

If you're still stuck in your driveway, take heart: the city starts clearing snow from commuter roads this weekend.

A daylong snowstorm snarled traffic and clogged roads this week, leaving some local drivers spinning their wheels.

A large low-pressure system swept over the Capital region from the southwest on Tuesday night, says Dan Kulak, a meteorologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton, along with plenty of snow. These systems normally blow over and head east, he explains, but this one boomeranged back west to give us even more snow.

Most regions ended up with about 15 to 25 centimetres of the stuff around Edmonton, Kulak says, with northern Alberta reporting 20 to 50. "I've got like two-and-a-half feet on my picnic table."

The snow made for slippery streets and poor visibility, as well as plenty of cars stuck in snowbanks.

Plow crews reported drifts up to a metre tall, says Darrell Symbaluk, the city's municipal operations supervisor, especially in the northern half of the city. "It's been busy," he says. "We're going to be digging out for a while."

The St. Albert RCMP heard of a few weather-related fender-benders, says Cpl. Don Murray, but none that caused serious injury. Drivers seem to be slowing down and accounting for the slippery streets. "It's been business as usual as far as collisions go."

Bus service at the St. Albert Centre transit exchange was seriously delayed Thursday morning after an articulated bus got stuck turning a corner, says transit director Bob McDonald. "We're getting past that, but this morning was difficult."

Public works staffers were called to clear the station, and drivers temporarily switched to smaller buses. Service should be back to normal by Saturday, he says.

Plows on patrol

City contractors will start clearing commuter streets (bus routes) as of Dec. 17, Symbaluk says, and should be done in about five days. "We'll go until it's done."

Graders will work throughout the city from about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Symbaluk says, as city crews continue to clear St. Albert Trail, parking lots, and large drifts. Bobcats will follow the graders after about 10 minutes to remove windrows from driveways. "It's amazing how quickly they go through an area." Downtown should be finished by this weekend, he adds.

Residents should keep parked cars off collector streets for the next few days until the graders pass through, Symbaluk says — if you don't, your car might get walled in by snow. "The best thing people can do to help us with this effort is to get their vehicles off the collector streets."

The city doesn't plan to start clearing residential streets yet, he continues, as there's not enough snowpack. While the city uses snow depth to determine when to plow major streets, it uses packed snow depth for residential roads. It clears commuter roads after 20 centimetres of accumulated snow, and residential ones after 12 centimetres of packed snow.

Symbaluk says he's not sure when the graders would head into residential areas. "If we get another blast of what we just got, it could happen next week."

Expect temperatures in the -10 C range next week, Kulak says, with the possibility of light flurries.

Call public works at 780-459-1557 for any questions on snow removal.