Snow slows Calgary traffic again

All of Calgary's sanders and other equipment were on the road Monday amid a snowfall, as commuters drove through another slow commute.

"Our crews will be out on the streets, all available manpower and equipment will be out," said Mayor Dave Bronconnier. "That is not a guarantee that it's not going to be a difficult commute."

Crews applied anti-icing agent and salt chips on known potential trouble spots, including bridge decks and hills, then switched to a sand and salt mix.

About three centimetres of snow were expected in Calgary by the end of Monday.

Several non-injury crashes were reported to police on Monday evening but the commute did not turn into the traffic chaos experienced by the city on Friday when a wet snowfall turned into treacherous sheets of ice.

In the 24-hour period from Friday at 3 p.m. to Saturday at 3 p.m., Calgary police responded to 39 crashes involving injuries and 544 fender-benders.

Some main roads on hills, including Edmonton Trail and 10th Street N.W., were closed on Friday after they were deemed too slippery for vehicles. Rush-hour traffic slowed to a crawl and many drivers abandoned their vehicles, opting to walk instead.

City officials defended how they handled the roads, explaining they did the best they could in a "unique" situation.

City trucks sprayed an anti-icing agent on major roads on Thursday afternoon based on a forecast of snow for that night, said Sean Somers, a spokesman for the roads department.

However, rain in some areas washed away the chemical and then the temperature dropped as the snow fell on Friday, turning wet roads into icy sheets.

"It essentially caught everybody off guard," said Somers. "The temperature dropped about 10 degrees within an hour, freezing up the roads and that's where we got into problems."

'I heard from citizens that were stuck in traffic, they said, for five to seven hours and I'm not sure anybody thinks that's acceptable.' —Ald. Ric McIver

Even if twice as many trucks were out, it would not have been able to make the roads any better, said John Hubbell, transportation manager for the City of Calgary, on Monday.

"Like the rest of Calgary, we were stuck in traffic and we just couldn't get ahead of the game," Somers said.

"There isn't enough money that would ever respond to an ice event that occurred on Friday evening. No city can handle that," added Bronconnier.

Hubbell advised drivers to:

• Get snow tires to give them better grip on winter roads.
• Slow down.
• Leave ample room between vehicles.
• Avoid sudden braking or steering.

Ald. Ric McIver brought up Friday's traffic chaos at Monday's city council meeting, asking administration to consider any new strategies.

"I heard from citizens that were stuck in traffic, they said, for five to seven hours and I'm not sure anybody thinks that's acceptable, so you know we should try to do better," said McIver.

"This wasn't a budget issue. This is an operational issue."

Highway closed

Heavy snow has already closed Highway 93 North, also known as the Icefields Parkway, from the Trans-Canada Highway to the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Banff National Park.

The highway is not expected to open until likely Tuesday, said Parks Canada officials.

Vehicles can still access Highway 11 to and from the Icefields Parkway, heading to and from Jasper National Park, but drivers should expect poor winter driving conditions, they added.