News Release

Change in Season Brings Changes in Snow Maintenance

Neighbourhood blading to take place on fixed day

Transportation Services is ready for snow season and is making changes to   improve winter roadway maintenance in Edmonton.

“We are always looking for opportunities to enhance and improve winter roadway maintenance,” said Bob Dunford, Director of Roadway Maintenance. “We take the feedback we receive over the course of each snow season and investigate ways to address the challenges faced on Edmonton roads.”

Neighbourhood Blading

The biggest change is the introduction of a set day for neighbourhood blading. If a neighbourhood is bladed for the first time on a Monday, for example, blading will always take place on a Monday in that area regardless of what day the city-wide blading cycle begins.

A fixed day schedule will make it easier for residents to know when cars need to be removed from neighbourhood streets. Fewer vehicles will be unexpectedly plowed in behind windrows and crews will be able to maximize the width of the driving lane. Residents should keep in mind that crews could be on their roads at any time during the 24 hours identified, and vehicles should be kept off neighbourhood roads until the next morning.

School Drop-off Zones

Roadways Maintenance has extended the length of school drop-off zones that are kept windrow-free for vehicles dropping off students, and will remove windrows on the streets adjacent to those zones several times through the snow season. Removal of windrows will take place during the night so that large pieces of equipment are not working when students are present.

How to Stay Informed

Citizens can stay informed about blading cycles, parking bans and other winter roadway maintenance activities by visitingedmonton.ca/winterroads. The City’s website includes an interactive map of the neighbourhood blading schedule.

Residents can also register to receive email notifications about parking bans and blading. This the fastest, most efficient way to keep informed about roadway maintenance. Updates are also posted to Facebook and Twitter and are available by calling 311.

“Edmonton is a winter city and although we can’t predict the weather, we are more than prepared to deal with what Mother Nature throws at us this year,” added Dunford. “We’re hopeful that the changes we’ve made will help alleviate some of the stress that the snow can bring, and we will monitor the situation through the year so we can be even more responsive to conditions.”

For more information, visit: edmonton.ca/winterroads