Quebec – Quebec City is prepared to face the next snow removal season and announces the implementation of new measures for winter maintenance starting this season.
“Our teams are ready for the imminent arrival of the winter season. Our priority always remains to intervene as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of citizens’ movements, whether pedestrians, cyclists or motorists, mentioned the vice-president of the executive committee responsible for the maintenance of traffic routes, Mr. Pierre-Luc Lachance. The City and its partners make Quebec a reference in snow removal and we constantly aim to maintain this quality of service. »
Remember that the 2022-2023 season brought its share of challenges with above-average precipitation (325 cm of snow) which required a total of 22 snow removal operations. Despite these challenges, the ratio of requests for intervention from citizens versus the number of fallen cm has clearly improved.
Winter Service Policy: deployment continues
The Winter Service Policy , adopted in November 2020, continues its planned deployment until the end of this winter season.
Current improvements include:
- The addition of 61 km of plowed sidewalks (total of approximately 1,300 km);
- The addition of 13.4 km of snow-cleared cycling corridors compared to last year (total of 121.3 km);
- The commissioning of seven new scraping equipment equipped with icebreakers for sidewalks;
- A pilot project on curbside parking bans on narrow streets;
Concerning winter cycle links, they are treated as priority 1. However, during or after a clearing operation, snow piled up at the edge of the street can make them partially inaccessible. A delay of 24 to 48 hours after the start of a removal operation should be expected so that the cycle links are completely passable.
Adherence to the Winter Service Policy is progressing through the renewal of the contracts between the City and contractors. Thus, 39 contract zones out of a total of 45 are now adapted to the Winter Service Policy. Areas under the responsibility of municipal staff are already maintained to the standards set by policy.
In addition, the City is continuing the development of a telemetry project which, ultimately, will allow citizens to visualize the progress of maintenance work and optimize operations. The selection of the bidder is underway and tests will be carried out in the coming months.
An annual budget over two seasons
The municipal budget covers the period from January to December of the same year, so snow removal straddles two budget periods.
The budget allocated to snow removal for the year 2023 is $78.3 million. That planned for 2024 is $91.9 million and conditional on approval of the operating budget.
The important role of the citizen
Snow removal is a collective effort. In order to improve the quality of snow removal from their streets and to facilitate the work of snow removal teams, we encourage residents to keep public roads clear of any obstacles during the winter season. This means not placing waste bins on public roads, whether in the street or on the sidewalk, and not parking your vehicle in the street when possible. The objective is to allow snow removal vehicles to circulate freely to carry out their work efficiently.
In addition, it is essential that citizens protect their landscaping and plants, respect the regulations regarding the disposal of snow, in particular by avoiding creating snow windrows on sidewalks, and obtain the required permits when necessary.
To find out how snow removal works and the steps, know the priority level of their street or remotely consult the flashing lights that are activated, citizens are invited to consult the Snow Removal section of the City’s website. This section also includes the means available to find out about snow removal operations and thus avoid being towed.