City of Windsor officials are asking for patience and cooperation from residents in making the best of the conditions due to significant snowfall.
Snow removal crews have been on the roads since 2 a.m. Friday morning plowing arterial and collector routes.
If they see a break in the snowfall, plowing of residential streets could start Saturday and usually takes between 24-36 hours to complete.
However, with more snow in the forecast for the weekend, completing both the main routes and residential areas is expected to continue into early next week.
Wherever possible, officials are asking residents to remove vehicles from all streets by parking in a driveway, or if available, in a nearby parking lot.
Residents are reminded that sidewalks abutting their property are their responsibility to clear. All sidewalks are to be cleared 12 hours after the snowfall ends for residential property owners and 4 hours for commercial property owners.
As well, under the Highway Traffic Act and City of Windsor By-laws, residents and private snow removal operators are prohibited from pushing snow back onto the street while clearing sidewalks and driveways, as this creates unsafe road conditions for motorists.
Windsor Fire and Rescue Services is asking that residents keep fire hydrants clear of snow. In the event of a fire, it will be easier for fire crews to gain access to the hydrant.
Patience is also requested with respect to parking lots at the city’s recreation facilities. Plowing of those areas is difficult through the day, as vehicles are parked in the lot.
Crews will return after hours when the lots are empty to clear them of snow. That work is expected to last through the night and into tomorrow.
Clearing of trails will begin once all lots and abutting sidewalks have been taken care of.
Any calls to 311 requesting plowing should be delayed until crews have a reasonable opportunity to have covered all areas. Residents are being asked for patience as well when reporting sidewalks that have not been shovelled, as cleaning up once the snow has finished falling is expected to take some time.
For more information, please stay tuned to the local media and visit the City website for general information on snow clearing, including a map of where plows have been.
