Staff memo. 10cm activates residential plow-out.
The winter storm that we experienced on Sat/Sun has continued but has moved away from freezing rain/ice and into a new snow phase. We have had approximately 5-6cm on new snow over the last 18 hrs.
Fortunately, this new snow is not wet. Also, we have been very fortunate that we have not experienced the higher wind gusts that were forecasted which has helped mitigate against additional damage to our urban forest.
Right now we have salt/plow trucks out (and have been all night) covering the main and secondary routes in the City. We also have three forestry crews out (aerial bucket trucks) today attending to the higher risk tree issues. Sidewalk plows are also out with focus on the main routes and Downtown. No residential plow out is anticipated at this time.
Forecasted precipitation and wind is expected to remain low which will assist our clean-up efforts. Temperature is expected to rise above freezing over the weekend which should also help.
However, I must caution all that we still have a tremendous amount of ice on both the trees and sidewalks which are proving extremely difficult to address through human and mechanical effort. Mother nature will need to assist.
Therefore, in the short term, I implore all residents to continue to use caution when driving and walking outdoors. I realize that post-Christmas holidays and warmer temperatures will bring people outdoors, however all must be respectful of warnings still in effect. In particular City park pathways should be avoided until further notice. Staff