The snow removal crews pictured here in action Thursday in North Battleford. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Braving the elements

North Battleford road crews take on winter snowfall

Jan 9, 2020 | 1:50 PM

The Christmas season may be in the rearview mirror, but those in the Battlefords community awoke Thursday morning to a winter wonderland.

With snowfall continuing to pick up since the turn of the New Year, the City of North Battleford’s public works department staff has been busy. Following a snowfall throughout the night Wednesday, the city’s trucks and various equipment teams began clearing the roadways at about 4 a.m. Thursday.

After each major snowfall, the road clearing teams begin their route by first clearing the main streets and roadways, featured under ‘priority one’ billing.

Those include main city roadways, ensuring easy entry to the hospital, the whole of 100^th Street and the downtown area to name a few.

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For a full breakdown of the city’s snow removal map, click here.

Once those main routes are cleared, the teams then shift their focus to the ‘priority two’ streets, including 110^th Street, 15^th Avenue, and Eighth Avenue (airport road).

Director of operations with the city, Stewart Schafer, said the teams try to get first priority roadways cleared within three days. They then try to have all priority two roads cleared within an additional seven days.

Priority three streets are the remainder of the roadways, including residential streets.

With each major snowfall, the snow removing teams restart with clearing the priority one roadways, and repeat the cycle (then back to priority two, before returning to residential and side streets).

Much of the heavy lifting is done by the city’s two graters and a two front end loaders. One of the front end loaders is also hooked up with a snow-throwing device used to fill the back of the trucks, while the city has two additional sanding trucks they use as well for clearing the streets.

Altogether, the total public works staff roster is 12 people. So as Schafer puts it, “it is all hands on deck,” for the department come the winter season.

Schafer said there are a few tips the public can keep in mind to help ensure the roads get cleared in a smooth and timely fashion.

He encourages drivers to steer clear, where possible, of the equipment in action and allow the workers the space required to maneuver the machinery while also abiding by parking restrictions.

Schafer also said patience is key, as the teams will attend to residential and side streets as soon as possible.

“If we haven’t gotten to you right away, we haven’t forgotten you, we’ll keep coming back,” he said.

When following behind the sanding truck, people are also encouraged to leave a bit of extra room, as the gravel does spread, and the sand can pepper vehicles if people follow too close behind the equipment.

Other than that, Schafer encourages people to let the workers do their job and maybe “give them a thumbs up if they’re doing a good job.”

While the street cleaning is handled by the city, sidewalks throughout the community are the responsibility of property and business owners. According to the city bylaw, in the downtown area, people have 24 hours to clear their sidewalk following snowfall. In residential and other areas, people are given 48 hours.

Schafer encourages those with any questions to consult the city of North Battleford website’s FAQ.

—

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1