At Community and Public Services Committee on April 25th, Committee members were presented with a report that outlined options to increase snow and ice control service standards. 

In my blog I wrote on April 14th, I outlined what it could mean to increase service standards in the City of Edmonton. Based on the feedback I received from constituents and the conversation at Committee on April 25th, it is evident that something needs to change regarding our snow clearing practices. 

Ultimately, after considerable discussion and several amendments, the following motion was made:

That Community and Public Services Committee recommend to City Council: 

1. That Administration provide a report to Committee outlining budget considerations to support the following options as outlined in Attachment 6 of the April 25, 2022, City Operations report CO00778 including:

•  Options to Enhance Current Service Delivery: 
  • Roads Option R1; 
  • Active Pathways AP1; 
  • Modify active pathways AP1 to AP3 which is 12 hours for P1, 24 hours for P2, and 120 hours for P3.

• Options for New Service Enhancements:
  • Increased parking ban and sidewalk enforcement; 
  • Clearing sidewalks for all senior facilities within 24 hours of snow event; 
  • Optimizing the efficiency of sandboxes, including options to increase or decrease frequency and volume, and streamline locations;
  • Introduce a courtesy tow during parking ban program;
  • Clear public squares and internal paved pathways in parks and playgrounds; and 
  • Buy 6 double-wide trailer snow plows.

• Assisted Snow Programs.

2. That Administration provide a detailed summary of amounts spent on contracted work for the last five winter seasons and summary of benchmarking and operation metrics that will be used to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the Snow and Ice Control Program. 

3. That Administration provide the lifespan and utilization analysis of current Snow and Ice Control equipment, as well as staff, and contracts currently in place, to address contributing factors behind equipment utilization of 57% during the 2021-2022 Snow and Ice Control season.

4. That Administration provide a full cost breakdown of complete residential blading, including culs-de-sac, to bare pavement and removal of windrows once per winter season.

This conversation will continue on May 9th at City Council. We will further discuss the points listed in the motion above, and each Councillor will be able to vote on each individual part of the motion.

There are several parts of this motion I don’t support.  I firmly believe we need to increase the snow clear budget to a point where all existing equipment is activated, and see what City Administration can accomplish.  We should establish this base line of service, before deciding to add any further services or functions.

As this motion outlines many options for snow clearing improvements, what are your thoughts about what changes should be made?  Ahead of this important conversation on May 9th, please feel free to share with me your thoughts regarding this Motion. 

I encourage you to share your feedback with me by emailing [email protected] or calling my office at 780-496-8130. As always, I appreciate your feedback.