City plows hit local streets Friday to clear the mushy mess caused by some unseasonably warm weather.
Plows rolled out on residential streets early on Friday morning, said acting city public works director Chris Richards.
This week’s warm snap has turned our hard-packed snow into a rutty, slushy mess that’s made it tough to drive down residential roads, he explained.
“It’s time to clean them up.”
On Friday at 7 a.m., roughly 10 graders, 24 skid-steers and 14 dump trucks headed out on a five-day mission to plow snow from neighbourhood streets.
Crews started in Sturgeon Heights, Forest Lawn and Lacombe Park, and moved onto Northridge, Akinsdale and Parkwood come Saturday, Richards said.
“We’re doing the whole city.”
Crews expect to finish their initial pass of all 16 neighbourhoods by Jan. 22, Richards said. After that, they’ll head back and remove the big snow piles left in the middle of some cul-de-sacs.
“We’ll do our best to get it out of there, but it could stay there for a little bit,” he said.
Richards asked residents to watch for snow removal signs and to park their cars in driveways or garages rather than streets. “We’re not going to plow anyone in,” he said, but they would plow around any car left on the road.
Crews would be active from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. between Jan. 17 and Jan. 22, weather permitting.
This week’s warmth made for messy roads, but the wicked winds that came with it also helped keep collector roads clear and dry, Richards noted. Crews also managed to prevent floods from melt-water by steam-cleaning catch basins open.
Visit www.stalbert.ca/snowclearing for details on snow removal.
Neighbourhood watch
City crews expected to clear residential neighbourhoods in the following order: <br />1. Sturgeon Heights<br />2. Forest Lawn<br />3. Lacombe Park<br />4. Northridge<br />5. Akinsdale<br />6. Pineview/Parkwood<br />7. Braeside<br />8. Deer Ridge<br />9. Inglewood/Ironwood<br />10. Erin Ridge<br />11. Woodlands<br />12. Kingswood<br />13. Oakmont<br />14. Heritage Lakes<br />15. Grandin<br />16. Mission<br />Plowing will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Jan. 17 to 22. Neighbourhoods may be moved up the list depending on snow conditions. Crews typically clear three regions per day, and should be in Northridge, Akinsdale and Parkwood by Saturday.
