It might not be a winter wonderland outside, but the City of Edmonton’s Snow and Ice Control (SNIC) Program staff have been switching gears to continue making Edmonton cleaner and safer.
Instead of operating plows, clearing snow or sanding streets, crews have been reassigned to other priority tasks within the City’s Parks and Roads Services branch throughout Edmonton’s driest November on record and into December.
SNIC crew members have been reassigned to high-priority tasks such as pothole repairs, sidewalk repairs, graffiti removal and litter and illegal dumping cleanup.
“With the lack of snow, our crews have been able to be flexible and put their efforts towards meaningful work that typically wouldn’t be able to be done this time of year,” said Val Dacyk, General Supervisor of Infrastructure Field Operations.
“I’m proud to see how resourceful the team has been in supporting other areas. Crews need to be ready for when the snow and ice arrive, yet shifting to other important work allows us to adapt and get ahead in other operations.”
This work can be seen first-hand by drivers and cyclists with thousands of additional potholes filled this year due to the unseasonably mild weather. Between October 21 and December 31, a record-breaking 109,465 potholes were filled during that time frame, including a large portion of potholes in residential areas and alleys that typically can’t be accessed until spring due to the usual snow pack. The SNIC program typically runs from October to April.
“It has been impressive to see the collaboration between staff working in different areas of the City and how quickly the leadership teams and crew have been able to shift and adapt to other priority work,” said Matthew Mohr, General Supervisor, Infrastructure Maintenance.
“The quick turnaround has led to a lot of successful work, including being able to address a backlog of 311 pothole notifications.”
Mohr said about 90 per cent of pothole notifications per district have been closed due to the reassignment of SNIC staff, setting his team up for success next year.
SNIC staff has also added 20,000 square metres of mulch to shrub beds and picked up more than 3,000 bags of garbage by the end of November. Other reassigned work includes sidewalk trip hazard repairs, parking lot and shared use path repairs, playspace maintenance, bridge maintenance, horticulture and more.
While crews have been reassigned to important non-snow-related work, the staff and plows are ready on short notice to keep Edmonton streets safe and accessible this winter season when the weather changes and either snow or ice need to be cleared from our mobility network.
Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows crews filling potholes in a back alley in October 2023.