Toronto prepares to deal with snow, whenever it arrives

The city is gathering everything it needs to deal with what winter will dish out.

Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong, the chair of the city's public works and infrastructure committee, said that Toronto is generally in "pretty good shape" ahead of the first arrival of winter weather.

"We've got 50 per cent of our salters already delivered to us. We're getting the rest of them by Nov. 15.  And so, we'll get all our plows delivered by the beginning of December," Minnan-Wong told CBC News in an interview on Monday.

If the snow arrives sooner rather than later, Minnan-Wong said the city has salters that have plows on them, which can be pressed into service if necessary.

"The biggest thing that we have to deal with, of course, if making sure the roads are safe and a lot of times in this kind of pre-winter time, we need to get the salters out to make sure that that ice and snow melts," Minnan-Wong said.

Minnan-Wong said the city already has salt on hand and it has contracts in place to keep the supply up.

"We shouldn't worry about how much salt we're going to have," he said.

Minnan-Wong said the city contracts out about 80 per cent of its winter maintenance.

The Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway are two of the major routes the city must maintain during the winter. In total, Minnan-Wong said the city must look after some 5,000 km worth of roadways.

For the people who could be driving on wintry roads in the near future, officials are advising that they make appropriate preparations as well.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said that means motorists should have proper tires installed on their vehicles and ensure that their windows are clear when driving and that they have enough windshield washer fluid.

"Everyone has a part to play in making sure our highways are safe at all times," he said.