Town staff and extra crews were continuing to clear snow from the Dec. 2 blizzard that struck the community right up to the weekend.
Town staff and extra crews were continuing to clear snow from the Dec. 2 blizzard that struck the community right up to the weekend.
Crews were scheduled to clear snow from 47 Avenue north of 47 Street, 47 Avenue north of 55A Street, 58 Street from 53 to 57 avenues, 56A Street Close and all parts of Hawthorn on Dec. 13. Regular updates on snow clearing activities can be found on the town’s Facebook’s page— www.facebook.com/pages/Town-of-Olds— with areas of the community scheduled for clearing posted on Facebook the day before snow clearing efforts begin.
The snow that is being cleared from local roadways is being dumped at a location near the Olds Waste Transfer Station off of 70 Avenue.
Norm McInnis, the town’s chief administrative officer, said the town has the ability through its snow-clearing policy to respond to events as the town staff deem appropriate. He called the latest snowfall on Dec. 2 "an extraordinary snow event" so the town mobilized as many resources as it could, calling on extra private contractors to help clear the snow.
"Our policy gives us the ability to ramp up and do things dependent upon the extent of the snow event, so each event is different. We don’t have a standard procedure. We really try and look at each event and put forth the resources that are needed to deal with it (as needed)," McInnis said.
Town staff had a "good discussion" on Dec. 11 about the purpose of snow clearing.
"The purpose (of snow clearing) is to make it so that people can be mobile in our community in these crazy Alberta winters. We get frustrated when people are frustrated because they can’t move, but we’re out there trying to make it so that people can be mobile. We’ll try and work through these events the best we can with the resources that we have," he said.
The final bill for the latest event had yet to be tallied, as streets were still being cleared on Dec. 16, but McInnis has said snow removal efforts related to the blizzard could cost up $50,000.
Town staff remind motorists to move their vehicles when the street they are parked on is scheduled to have snow cleared from it.
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