St. Albertans aren’t particularly pleased with the city’s efforts with controlling snow and ice on the residential roads.
More than half of St. Albertans surveyed are either dissatisfied or feel neutral about residential road snow and ice control say the results of a 400-household phone survey that were presented to council on Monday as part of a report on potential changes to the city’s snow control service levels.
While a majority of respondents pronounced themselves pleased with the efforts on highways, arterials and collector roads and sidewalks, satisfaction levels dropped to only 37 per cent pleased with the city’s efforts on residential roads.
As a result of the surveys and other public consultations, along with a review of other communites’ snow clearing policies, come the 2016 budget debate city public works staff will be suggesting changes to the service levels for residential snow clearing along with some extra equipment meant to help increase efficiencies.
The residential snow clearing service levels would lower the snow pack level that triggers the city clearing residential roads. Jim Dinwoodie, operations manager, said they estimate it would add an extra snow clearing to the season.
Currently the snow pack needs to be between 12 and 15 centimetres to trigger a clearing. The new service level would lower that to six to nine centimetres.
Snow pack is different from snow accumulation, council was told, so the change wouldn’t mean a clearing would occur every time six centimetres of snow falls.
While people want better residential snow clearing, there wasn’t much support for raising taxes to pay for the changes to the service levels of any roads or sidewalks.
The proposed residential service level change was estimated to cost an extra $400,000 a year. The report said the change would move St. Albert back to the top of the pack when it comes to snow control services in the capital region.
There will also be proposals for new equipment and changes to the snow storage site access controls and more anti-icing operations after a successful pilot on Ray Gibbon Drive this past winter. Those “service level efficiencies” would cost a total of $279,000, $164,000 in capital purchases and $115,000 in operational costs.
Council received the report for information and gave the go-ahead for staff to make the case for the proposed changes during the fall budget debate, as well as research some new technologies such as a road weather information system.
Coun. Sheena Hughes wanted to know what the savings from efficiencies would be.
“It should actually have cost savings,” she said.
Hughes pointed out to council that not many were willing to pay more for increased services.
“I’m not convinced the old system wasn’t working,” she said. She said she fears they’ll ask for even more money to reach the new service level, if it is accepted by council.
Coun. Cam MacKay and Coun. Wes Brodhead both highlighted that the report is interested in exploring new uses for technology that could help with snow and ice control.
“It speaks to who we are as a community,” Brodhead said.
Coun. Tim Osborne said he liked that some of the recommendations could result in better environmental stewardship if implemented.
He also said it’s interesting to note that people wanted better service but without a tax increase.
“That’s the ongoing challenge of city councils around the world,” he said.
The proposals will be debated during the 2016 council budget process.
