City waits to clear snow, then does it fast

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This article was published 10/02/2025 (233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg gets more snow than other prairie cities, gets the least snowpack melt, has the fewest days when salt can melt snow — and takes longer than most cities to begin clearing sidewalks.

A new city report shows that four of the eight cities that responded to a query from Winnipeg about their sidewalk snow clearing begin plowing as soon as the snow begins to fall.

While Winnipeg waits until five centimetres of snow has accumulated before it begins plowing operations, the report found Edmonton, Steinbach, Quebec City and St. John’s begin plowing at the beginning of a snowfall.

The report, being presented to the civic public works committee on Friday, found Winnipeg is behind three other cities: Calgary starts its plow as soon as the snow stops falling; Saskatoon starts when there are two centimetres on the ground; and Ottawa calls out the plows when 2.5 cm has accumulated.

Only Sudbury, which waits until eight centimetres of snow has fallen, takes longer than Winnipeg to start clearing sidewalks.

Coun. Janice Lukes, the committee’s chairwoman, said while the sidewalk plows aren’t deployed immediately, when they are they can cover the city faster because there are more of them — and she believes they are doing a good job.

“Honestly, and I’m almost afraid to say this, I think I’ve had one complaint this year on the sidewalks and bike paths,” Lukes said.

“Maybe it is because we have more machines and we’ve put more labour into it. We got 15 (more sidewalk-clearing) machines last year — this is the first year we’re really using them. We are out there sooner. We used to wait a lot longer before we went out.”

Winnipeg also has more kilometres of snow to clear than most cities, Lukes said.

The report states that Winnipeg has 3,466 kilometres of sidewalks and paths, less than Edmonton’s 4,400 kilometres, but far more than Sudbury’s 538.

City council made some sidewalk snow-clearing changes last year. While the starting time for operations to begin had already been reduced from eight centimetres of snow to five centimetres, it was also changed to have a deadline of finishing all residential sidewalks within 36 hours.

Disability advocates admit this year the city is doing a good job, but there are still problems.

Melissa Graham, executive director of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, said the S(NO)W Plow campaign on Facebook it established with other organizations representing people with disabilities and seniors has received nine complaints this winter compared to 14 last winter.

“There are still a lot of people who don’t get out because they feel it is unsafe. The plowing has been good when there has been a dump of snow, but what about the in-between? The snow comes down and it adds up. This impacts people,” Graham said.

David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba, said he agrees the city has done a better job clearing sidewalks so far this year.

“I’ve got to give them kudos. I think they’re doing a better job, but there is always room for improvement. It looks better. I think our (snow clearing) policy has been well established — as long as they follow it, ” Kron said.

“I know this is a winter city and I’m willing to work with them.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca