City of Toronto reminder about its snow-clearing service

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  February 7, 2013

City of Toronto reminder about its snow-clearing service

With a sizable snowfall expected over the next 24 hours, the City of Toronto reminds residents and businesses about the levels of snow clearing the City provides.

Large snowfalls require a co-ordinated approach by the City’s staff and contractors to ensure that Toronto's streets and sidewalks are safe. The City’s general levels of service are described below for various amounts of snow accumulation.

As soon as the snow begins, Transportation Services sends out its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and the main roads. After that, the salt trucks move on to the local roads.

If the city receives two centimetres of snow, the plows are sent to the expressways. If five centimetres of snow falls, plows also go to the main roads and plowing will take place for the duration of the storm. 

When the snow stops and if the snow accumulation reaches eight centimetres, plows will be sent to the local roads. Normally, local road plowing will be completed between 14 and 16 hours after the storm has ended.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on local roads where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres (five centimetres in January and February) of snow has fallen.  In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow 12 hours after a storm has taken place. You can learn more about sidewalk snow clearing in Toronto and view a map of where the service takes place at http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow/sidewalks. 

The City of Toronto’s levels of service for snow clearing meet those set by the Province of Ontario for municipalities and road authorities. These levels of service were adopted by Toronto City Council in 2009. 

Residents who have questions about snow-clearing efforts in their area can call the City at 311.

The City has 600 snowplows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks ready to tackle the winter precipitation.

Toronto is Canada's largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.7 million people. Toronto's government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Media contact: Steve Johnston, Senior Communications Coordinator, 416-392-4391, sjohnsto@toronto.ca