Saskatoon moving to clear residential streets after massive storm

After Sunday's blizzard, which dumped upwards of 20 centimetres of snow on Saskatoon, city crews are continuing to clear the roads in what officials say may be the "biggest-ever" snow clearing operation in the city. 

City officials reported that as of Tuesday afternoon, they had been able to open at least one traffic lane on all major and secondary roads.

Now, they are prioritizing continued work on the highest-traffic roads — opening more lanes, plowing curb-to-curb, sanding, salting and de-icing. 

And while the city does not normally plow residential streets, given the amount of snow that fell, it will be making an exception in this case. 

"We recognize that this is an unusually large amount of snowfall, all at once, for our city.… For this reason, we've decided to proceed with a plan to restore mobility on all roads, including residential streets," Terry Schmidt, the city's general manager of transportation and construction, said in a news release. 

"We recognize the challenges people are facing, and we want to help fix the problem. We're going to throw everything we have at this effort to clear away the snow and get people moving around again."

The city will also be bringing in more contractors to supplement its crews throughout the cleanup efforts. 

Crews will begin to work on the residential streets Wednesday, starting with the most affected areas, including the Kensington neighbourhood, after the high-traffic streets are clear.

That may take some time, with more snow in the forecast for Wednesday. But Schmidt says the city is committed to accomplishing this task in a timely fashion. 

"We will work around the clock, day and night, in all our neighbourhoods," he said. "We appreciate that night work may cause some noise inconveniences, but working through the night will significantly reduce the schedule difficulties." 

And he thanked Saskatoon residents for their continued co-operation with the citywide snow clearing efforts, including not pushing snow out onto the streets as they clear their own sidewalks and drives, which interferes with the plows.

"This is an incredibly challenging situation," he said. "We're doing everything we can to get Saskatoon moving again."

While work is ongoing, snow clearing crews will be saving time by storing snow in various city spaces within Saskatoon, including parks and lots.  

And while road conditions in the city are improving, drivers are reminded that snow accumulation, drifting and a layer of hidden ice under the snow are still hazards. 

City transit has resumed modified service on most routes.