Snow Removal Policy Presentation - Jan 2019

Snow Removal in Fort St John Presentation of Draft Council Policy 37/19

Background Snow Management • 350 lane km of street • 77 km trails and sidewalks • Public snow dump • Winter sand management • Salt management

Resources (PW / Grounds Depts.)

• 25 FTE • 17hrs/day 7 days a week • 30 pieces of equipment • 5500 tonnes sand • 400 tonnes salt • Contract equipment

Roads Sidewalks Trails

Snow Fighting Equipment

The early days of snowfighting

Plow trucks were used primarily to clear the streets for the City for many years.

These trucks equipped with underbody blades were primarily used to cleared all streets curb to curb and filled driveways. Streets were cleared quickly however a large number residents were frustrated with large piles left in front of their driveways.

Graders with gate. The gate, when placed down, is designed to hold the snow as the blade passes a driveway. The city currently has three graders with gates.

Downtown Haul Off Snow is hauled from the downtown core as there is no snow storage available on adjacent boulevards.

Snow is windrowed into the centre of the streets, blown into large dump trucks.

These windrows are usually created at night and hauled during the day.

One haul off event can cost upwards of $2500 per hour and the entire event can cost $50,000 or more.

The snow is trucked to the City operated private snow dump.

Snow is also hauled from some heavily congested areas.

The City has hauled snow from the downtown core for many years.

• Public Snow Dump Free and open 24/7 The City operates and maintains a public snow dump for residents to dump hauled snow. Throughout the winter the snow must be pushed and piled with bulldozers.

There is no cost for users of the facility.

The cost to operate the snow dump is dependant on the snowfall each year.

Very few municipalities operate and maintain a snow dump for public use at no charge to users.

March 2007

2010 Snow Removal Committee Committee • Comprised of Staff and Citizens • Studied benchmark communities • Review existing process

Recommendations • Stop plow trucks filling driveways • Employ a courtesy blade • Use graders and snowblowers to move snow of residential streets • Collect fees for use of the snowdump

Graders and Snowblowers (Residential) Graders with gates • Graders push the snow to the side of the road and use the gate to clear the snow from the driveway entrance.

Snowblowers • Snowblowers blow the snow from the windrow onto the adjacent boulevard.

Graders and Snowblowers (Residential)

Graders and Snowblowers (Residential) The process of using grader and snowblowers works extremely well. It leaves the street clean from curb to curb and the snow is placed neatly on the boulevard.

This process is very slow and it takes crews up to five weeks to clear the entire City from curb to curb.

This process frustrates many residents due to the time it takes for crews to arrive in their area.

The Sicard 5250 blowers although inexpensive to purchase, have reached end of life.

2017-2018 Record Snowfall Year.

400

2014-15 301 CM

350 300

2015-16 130 CM

250 200

2016-17 257 CM

150 100 50

2017-18 339 CM

0 14-15

15-16

16-17

17-18

18-19 ytd

2018-19 ytd 115 CM

Cost of snow clearing 2015 Budget $1,400,415 Actual $ 951,547 2016 Budget $1,566,156 Actual $ 924,516 2017 Budget $1,406413 Actual $1,616,112 2018 Budget $1,315,375 Actual $1,773,421 ytd

2017 Municipal Benchmarking Network Canada Report (MBN)

Comparisons 2017 costs per lane kilometer for City of Fort St John were $4,617.

2017 MBN report identified an average cost of $4,315 per lane kilometer.

Draft Snow and Ice Policy Principles

• Fort St John is a winter city • Fort St John is in partnership with it’s residents • Public Safety is priority • Fort St John is financially responsible and sustainable

Draft Snow and Ice Policy • The proposed policy identifies priorities for snow and ice control for streets, parking lots, and sidewalk/trails. • The policy also identifies levels of response which are operationalized in the administrative procedure. This allows for the use of contracted services to help with clearing the streets and parking lots. Typically the contractors would work in a residential area, allowing City crews to move back to higher priority areas if required. • It also allows for the ability to open a street, to make it safer to drive one although it is not cleared from curb to curb. Crews would later return and clear the street from curb to curb.

Draft Snow and Ice Policy PRIORITIES Roadways – Public Works Department: (in order of priority) Major thoroughfares (P 1A) Collector routes (P 1A) Transit Routes (P 1B) Downtown Core Area (Haul off) Residential Areas (P 2A) Commercial Lanes (P 2B) Parking Lots – Facilities/Grounds Department: (in order of priority) Emergency Services Public Works and Grounds Recreational and Administrative Buildings Parks and other City owned parking lots Sidewalks – Grounds Department: (in order of priority) Adjacent to City owned properties Designated Pedestrian Routes Transit Stops Multi-use Trails

Draft Snow and Ice Policy Snow Clearing Levels Routine Snow Clearing – normal snow and ice clearing (including salting/sanding) intended to eliminate, reduce or mitigate hazards to users within the Snow and Ice Control area.

Level 1 – snow and ice control following snowfall accumulation greater than 5cm and less than 15cm measured over a 72 hour period.

Level 2 – snow and ice control following snowfall accumulation of above 15cm and up to 25cm measured over a 72 hour period.

Level 3 – snow and ice control following snowfall accumulation greater than 25cm measured over a 72 hour period.

Draft Snow and Ice Policy •

Staff initiated a review of the Snow Removal Policy in 2017 subsequent to a Council Resolution.

•

The purpose of the Policy is to establish priorities for snow and ice control with the transportation corridors and

designated snow control areas.

•

The draft policy establishes that snow fighters will clear snow on a priority basis to enable effective movement of emergency vehicles and facilitate movement of traffic and pedestrians within the city.

•

The draft policy aims to reduce many of the negative impacts of winter however not eliminate all negative impacts.

•

Consideration has also been given to the history of snow clearing and snowfall accumulations, as well as what has worked well over many years of striving for service level improvements.

•

The focus of the new draft policy is to provide an equitable level of service to the community, allowing clearing of streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and trails in a prioritized manner.

Draft Snow and Ice Policy •

A new administrative procedure will complement the policy allowing staff to identify and allocate resources,

including contractors to be called upon subsequent to a snowfall event.

•

The draft policy contains provisions to address current snow removal issues while allowing flexibility for staff to deal with the unpredictability of the northeast BC winters.

•

The Traffic and Sidewalk Bylaws will supplement this draft policy.

Draft Snow and Ice Policy Highlights

•

Priorities for roadways, parking lots and sidewalks clearly identified (P1A, P1B, P2A,P2B)

•

Three snow clearing levels based on the accumulation of snow over a 72hour period

•

The sequence and the methodology of services provided at each level, including monitoring the efficiency of clearing roadways, parking lots and sidewalks will be based on operational efficiency, including route optimization and other relevant applicable factors.

•

Communications will be based on the guiding principles of the Corporate Communications Policy 41/17

Thank You Questions?