Wednesday's snowfall brought traffic in St. Albert to a standstill, with the RCMP advising against travel if at all possible and St. Albert Transit suspending all local service until mid-afternoon. Cpl. Laurel Kading of the St.
Wednesday's snowfall brought traffic in St. Albert to a standstill, with the RCMP advising against travel if at all possible and St. Albert Transit suspending all local service until mid-afternoon.
Cpl. Laurel Kading of the St. Albert RCMP said the detachment recorded 15 accidents Wednesday, only one of which involved minor injuries.
"It indicates people were being cautious," she said, warning people Thursday to drive with caution.
Local officers, she said, are concerned first and foremost with safety on St. Albert's roads in the wintry conditions.
Information has been making the rounds on Twitter that RCMP weren't allowing vehicles to travel St. Albert Trail unless they had winter tires but Kading said the local detachment didn't put out such information.
"I'm not sure where that's coming from, but it's not coming from us. It might have come from a different detachment," Kading said.
She added there are not enough officers available in conditions such as this to enforce any kind of ban.
"We're obviously encouraging people to have their vehicles ready for winter conditions.
St. Albert Transit resumed service at approximately 4 p.m. after it suspended all local service at 8 a.m. due to road conditions. Will Steblyk, manager of planning and customer service for St. Albert Transit, said the volume of snow and slippery conditions have created havoc for the bus fleet.
As of Wednesday afternoon buses were operating on modified service, with some local streets still impassable. All transit service returned to normal on Thursday.
"Local service was suspended for the safety of the passengers, of other vehicles and to protect our equipment," Steblyk said.
Commuter service into Edmonton ran but round trips were taking as long as three hours, Steblyk said.
"They are significantly delayed there."
The City of St. Albert sent out a press release Wednesday afternoon stating it's using all available equipment to plow and sand priority roadways, including St. Albert Trail and Ray Gibbon Drive, in an effort to accommodate afternoon and evening rush hour traffic. The city has also called in private contractors to help snow clearing efforts, the release stated.
Schools in the Catholic, Public and Sturgeon School divisions were open Thursday, but both the Catholic and Sturgeon divisions announced bus service was cancelled for the day.
