What could be done to improve snow removal in Sault Ste. Marie? City council asks for assessment

As communities in northeastern Ontario continue to deal with snow and ice, one municipality wants to have a closer look at its snow removal service.

At Sault Ste. Marie city council Monday night, a motion was put forward by councillor Angela Caputo, requesting that staff report back on current snow removal service delivery models.

"I would first like to start off by saying that I think that public works has done a phenomenal job this year with the amount of snow we have received," councillor Caputo said. 

"That was not the catalyst to bringing this motion forward."

Caputo said it's one thing for councillors to speak with residents about snow removal, but she felt it was time the public works department speak for itself.

"We're also one of the only municipalities not to be tracking snow removal," she said.

"So that's something that I think could be helpful. But I just think that having a report on ways that we can improve this already great service will appease some of the residents who have asked for such things."

'More and more'

Councillor Sonny Spina said its important to know what the public works department is doing so decisions can be made on what services could be offered.

"We are continually asking the team at public works to do more and more, yet we are not making strategic investments   to allow them to do those," he said.

"We're not giving them the tools they need to do the jobs that we desire, at the level we desire."

The motion was passed unanimously.

Earlier this month, the City of Greater Sudbury launched a new interactive map that shows which roads have been cleared and how recently.

The province of Ontario also offers an online map where people can track road conditions and where plows are located.