Hammond Bay Rd., like most roads in Nanaimo, is mostly covered with packed snow. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

snow clearing

‘It’s an exceptional weather event:’ City crews busy maintaining Nanaimo roads

Dec 29, 2021 | 12:15 PM

NANAIMO — With in the range of two feet of snow on the ground and more in the forecast, plowing Nanaimo’s roads is a continuing 24/7 job since Christmas eve.

David Thompson, manager of roads and traffic services for the City of Nanaimo, said their priorities are emergency corridors, major roads and secondary routes.

He said motorists can expect winter driving conditions everywhere in Nanaimo for at least the next few days.

“The local roads are packed snow, like what the rest of Canada deals with on a regular basis, so it’s a bit of an eye-opener for all of us. For properly prepared vehicles and properly prepared travelers conditions are not too bad.”

While plows have made their way to local neighbourhood roads, Thompson cautioned 1,100 kilometers of paved streets and nearly 800 cul-de-sacs to tend to is a lot, particularly in these challenging conditions.

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“It’s definitely going to take us time to get through all of that infrastructure with the significant snowfall that we’ve seen. Absolutely patience is requested,” Thompson said.

The City’s snow-clearing fleet involves 20 vehicles, including backhoes, Thompson said.

He noted salt isn’t too effective when it’s this cold, while they typically use limited amounts of sand since that substance plugs up storm drains.

Thompson recommended motorists give snow plows plenty of room to work and park off the street if possible.

He said a lot of clean-up tasks have been moved to the evening where it makes more sense to move large volumes of snow away from intersections.

“We’ll do that in the night time when traffic is lower and we can do that work safely and efficiently.”

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Nanaimo with a further five to 10 centimeters expected the evening of Wednesday, Dec 20, while a few flurries are expected to taper off the following morning.

The City announced curbside collection for zones 1 and 6 is cancelled on Wednesday, Dec 29 due to adverse weather conditions.

Weather permitting, Impacted households will see their collections re-scheduled to Jan 1 through Jan 3, according to the City.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes