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Snow Plowing & Snow Removal Snow fall amount, density of snow, humidity, rising or falling temperatures, wind velocity and direction along with the time of year, all play a part in how the City’s Public Works Department responds to any particular snow event. If a City wide plowing program is implemented, it will be completed immediately after a snow event. In the event of an emergency, snow plowing equipment will be diverted in order to assist police, fire or ambulance emergency vehicles as required. Driveway approach clearing will be taking place as well, but may not be completed immediately after plowing. Please see below for more details with regards to clearing Driveway Approaches. The City of Brandon Public Works Department bases it’s response to winter snow events on the following principles:
During any snow event the Public Works Department appreciates your cooperation, please be patient, we will get to your street as soon as possible. Routes Snow plowing and/or snow removal are conducted according to a priority system. When storms are continuous, or closely follow one another, operations will be repeated or continued on the routes of the highest priority, before moving onto routes of a lesser priority. These route designations include the following; Priority One (P1):
Priority Two (P2):
Priority Three (P3):
Provincial Roads The Department of Manitoba Infrastructure & Transportation is responsible for the plowing and removal of snow on some designated streets and frontage roads within the City of Brandon. The following streets are under Provincial jurisdiction for snow plowing:
Private Streets There are a number of private streets within the City of Brandon which are the responsibility of the developer and/or owner for snow removal. Miscellaneous Areas The City crews also clear bus stops, fire hydrants, intersections, lane access to the streets, loading zones and City sidewalk ramps where they meet intersections. There are over 2,500 of these locations on the P1 routes. Sidewalks & Walking Paths Designated walking/bike paths have a priority to be cleared as soon as possible in conjunction with the P1 streets. Designated sidewalks are cleared after the P1 and P2 routes are near completion. One side of all streets in the area of 1st Street to 18th Street between Victoria Avenue and Pacific Avenue will have a sidewalk cleared on one side of the street only. This does not include sidewalk portions that are adjacent to business which thru local By-Law are to be cleared by the owner. Snow clearing sidewalks outside the above noted area of 1st Street to 18th Street between Victoria Avenue and Pacific Avenue are confined to clearing the sidewalks that are adjacent to bus routes and schools only. As per the City of Brandon Traffic By-law No. 5463, clause 10.7 (page 29) outlines the requirements of snow clearing and removal from sidewalks adjacent to businesses. Private businesses are required to clear the sidewalk adjacent to their business before 10:00 hours on each day, following every snow fall. Please refer to the aforementioned clause of the Traffic By-law for more specific details in this regard. Throughout the balance of Brandon, residents can greatly assist pedestrians and/or delivery agents by clearing the sidewalk in front of their property. Driveway Approaches During the initial snow plowing that follows any snow event, city crews will be clearing all driveway approaches throughout the City if that particular street is plowed. The plowing of driveway approaches will be completed in conjunction with the plowing of City streets. Unfortunately as the amount of snow increases, so does the time required to clear driveway approaches. The Public Works Department main priority is to ensure City streets are cleared quickly and efficiently, providing a safe environment for travel. There are over 8800 private and business driveway approaches in the City of Brandon, therefore clearing approaches may not be completed immediately after plowing the streets. Front end loaders will accompany snow plow graders, and will remove the ridges of snow from driveway approaches within approximately 2 hours after the street has initially been plowed. Please Note: The ridge of snow left across driveways as a result of clearing sidewalks is not cleared by City crews. Rut Cutting On P2 routes, snowfall accumulations in the range of 6 to 13 cm (2.5 to 5 inches) are usually left to pack on the street with normal daily traffic and accumulations greater than this amount trigger a snow plowing program for P2 routes. As a result of not always plowing P2 routes, some streets will become rutted and choppy through the course of the winter months. A rut cutting operation will be started if the streets become overly difficult to navigate or unsafe for travel. If you find a street that is becoming difficult to navigate as a result of rutting, please call the Public Works Department at 729-2284 and provide the location or alternatively use the e-Report system. A site inspection will be done, and if warranted, the street will be put on a list to be plowed on a priority basis. Wind and Snow Drift Any snow event may be given an upgraded response level, depending on factors such as temperature, density of snow, wind speed and direction. Depending on direction of wind and amount of loose snow, equipment will be deployed to ensure Priority 1 and Priority 2 routes remain navigable. With blowing and drifting snow, not all areas of the City will require the same level of service. The decision to increase or adjust the response will be at the discretion of the Director of Public Works or their designate. Follow up Snow Plowing Following the initial snow plowing in response to any particular snow event, some areas of the City will require remedial snow plowing and/or removal. This work will be completed in the following week or so to clear up trouble spots. If you find a street and/or intersection that is becoming difficult to navigate or is unsafe for travel, please call the Public Works Department at 729-2285 and provide the location along with a brief description, or alternatively use the e-Report system at the bottom of this page. A site inspection will be done, and the street and/or intersection will be put on a list to be rectified on a priority basis. Street Sanding A combination of sand/salt and sand/liquid is used at key locations throughout the city when street and weather conditions warrant. City trucks are deployed regularly to place these combinations on areas such as intersections, hills and busy streets to provide additional traction for driving safety during winter months. Road salt is typically only used when the temperature is -10° Celsius and rising as well as in limited locations where for safety reasons it is better to have bare dry pavement, such as busy arterial streets and intersections. Sand is generally used for traction at most other locations in the City such as hills, intersections and bends in street alignment. Piling Snow on City Streets As per the City of Brandon Traffic By-law No. 5463, clause 10.8 states: “It shall be an offence for any person to remove from any private property, public property, street, boulevard, or sidewalk any snow or ice and deposit same on any street, boulevard, or sidewalk in such a manner that could create a hazardous condition for either vehicular or pedestrian traffic.” Please deposit snow from private property onto boulevards or front yards. The above noted By-law does not apply to the Province, the City, or their agents or employees who are actively contracted for snow removal from streets, boulevards, or sidewalks. Contact Information Operational Services Division Public Works Department Civic Services Complex 900 Richmond Avenue East Brandon, Manitoba R7A 7M1
For further information with regards to snow plowing concerns or safety issues, please call the Public Works Department at 729-2285, and press 5 for the Streets and Roads Section. During regular business hours (8:00 am to 4:30 pm), administration staff will assist you with your enquiry. For after hour calls, please call 729-2284 and leave your name, phone number and a brief description of your concern. Staff will review your message the following business day, and return your call if required. | |||
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