North Battleford crews have been busy this month clearing away snow all over the city, following the snowstorms this month.
Winter arrived with a thud when the city received a massive dumping on Nov. 7 and 8, and the snow has continued to fall at various times since then.
The issue of snow clearing was raised at council Monday, when Councillor Kelli Hawtin asked about the city’s communication of bylaws and safety concerns. She noted that on the City of North Battleford website there was a frequently-asked-questions page, but was curious if city administration has started making sure people had the communication they required about clearing the sidewalks, keeping them free and clear of snow and ice, and keeping extension cords off the sidewalks.
Director of city Operations Stewart Schafer said letters were sent out in October letting people know how many hours they had for cleaning their sidewalks. In downtown it was 24 hours; in the residential and other areas it was 48.
Schafer also provided an update about the time spent by the city clearing the streets and sidewalks. From regular hours since Nov. 7-8 to Nov. 23, they had spent 928 person hours and 396 overtime hours clearing the snow.
That overtime included working Saturday and Sunday during the Nov. 7-8 snowstorm and also on Remembrance Day Nov. 11. They did stop for a few minutes during the 11th minute of the 11th hour to respect those who had fallen, but afterwards continued on.
The city admits it has been a struggle to clear the large amount of snow away.
“There is a lot of snow out there, your Worship, but we are trying our best,” said Schafer.
Schafer also said they are still trying to clear up windrows that have accidentally been plowed onto the sidewalks.
His word to those who had windrows on their sidewalks was to please not try and shovel it — “I do not need to hear about heart attacks,” he said – and he urged people whose sidewalk was covered by 50 per cent to call City Hall and they would investigate.
If over 50 per cent, the city would come in with their Bombardier equipment and push the snow back onto the road. If less than 50 per cent they tell residents to “pretend the sidewalks end where the windrow starts and keep that clean.”
Coun. Bill Ironstand asked if downtown businesses were allowed to move the snow from the sidewalks onto the street, because they didn’t have the means to haul it away.
Schafer responded the snow is permitted to be pushed onto the street. But he added that for the parking lots the amount and quantity becomes a hazard for the roads. For those it must be hauled off or put in an area of your property where it can be drained into a catch-basement. It cannot be drained back onto the city street, as it could damage the asphalt.
