Snowy February pushing CBS cleanup crews to the limit

By Chad Feehan / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

CBS councillors wouldn’t have been able to avoid talking about snow even if they had wanted to this week, given the vast quantity of white stuff that was dumped in the middle of Winterfest.
“What a difference two weeks makes,” Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley observed Tuesday at the regular public council meeting. “I believe when we left these council chambers two Tuesday nights ago, I could go home and mow my grass, and of course in the span of two weeks we’ve almost had 100 cm of snow.”
Tilley noted the strain such snowfalls put on the public works department as well as residents who are waiting to see their roads and lanes cleared.
“We just kindly ask for residents to be patient. It’s not like cleaning out our own driveway, we have 400 kms of roads and byroads to clear,” said Tilley.”
Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy asked councillors and residents to be kind to themselves while the weather is putting a wrench in their lives.
“We also have to be kind to our snowplow operators and all of our operators who are doing their best to get all of the roads cleared in a timely fashion,” she said. “They also have to be safe in doing that. Some of these operators are working 14, 16 hour days, so there comes a time when people have to tap out for safety reasons.”
Councillor-at-Large Joshua Barrett pointed out that some events went ahead outside of the weather’s reach, and listed some rescheduled events for this week and beyond.
“We’ve had a lot of fun already with our pancake breakfast, our fun day at Parsons Field, and the Shield hockey tournaments,” he said. “But a lot of things have been postponed and are in the process of being rescheduled.”
Valentines Trivia at the Manuels River Interpretation Centre has been moved to February 22nd, while game two in the Annie Parsons Shield and Fred Squires Shield high school hockey series has been moved to February 25th at 7:05 p.m. and 8:25 p.m. respectively. Lastly, the snowshoe and campfire event has been moved to Nugent’s Park on February 28th.
“There might be others that might be updated in the coming days,” Barrett said. “We’ll keep the momentum going until the end of February or into March if we have to, depending on the weather.”
Mayor Darrin Bent bid the snow clearing crews a hats-off of his own, noting the long hours snow clearing personnel of any position are subject to.
“Last week, the snow conditions we had were wet and heavy, and it exacerbated some of the work that they were doing, and that’s hard on them too,” he said. “They’ve been pushed to the hilt continuously for about a week and they’re going to continue over the next few days, and they’re doing a great job in my view.”
Bent advised residents against backfilling cleared sidewalks with snow cleared from their driveways, which impacts the safety of pedestrians. That lead to his final point on winter safety, whether in a vehicle or walking the streets. “See and be seen,” he said.
“We’ve received approximately 90 cm of snowfall since Wednesday morning, the highest accumulation since January 2020, which we all know as Snowmaggedon,” noted Hardy.
Clearing of town streets and street widening is currently a focus, she said, with a special emphasis on “priority one” sidewalks, including those in school zones and collector streets.
After this phase is complete, the emphasis will shift towards snow removal around fire hydrants, traffic lights, intersections, and cul-de-sacs, and is expected to begin Friday morning, weather depending.
“We kindly ask for your assistance in clearing fire hydrants if you’re able to, wherever possible,” Hardy said.
Equipment breakdowns due to continuous use and heavy snow has been causing delays in snow clearing and salting efforts, she added.