Winter Maintenance

I recently met with Senior Operations staff to discuss the concerns we’ve been hearing over the last few winters – especially in the Cornell area. Last winter we did receive more snow than usual, which contributed to a few of the issues, and we experienced back to back snow falls with 35 cm – 50 cm, which is not common and difficult to manage. These conditions are amplified when applied to our many lane-based neighbourhoods. Laneways pose unique challenges related to snow clearing operations:

• there is little space for snow to be stored in laneways and it must be hauled away – a fairly time-consuming operation
• laneway snow clearing utilizes different equipment and crews than roads – front loaders are used as opposed to snow plows
• laneways are generally the last priority areas for clearing

Another factor that contributed to service delivery problems last year was the challenge posed by the labour shortage coming out of the pandemic. Contractors were short-staffed and some of the operators were new and inexperienced. Markham operations staff have assured me that staffing levels this year have improved significantly, which should be reflected in improved service.

We have 241 personnel (in house and contractors) on 24/7 standby to salt and clear 2,250 km of major City road network and 1,150 km of sidewalk.  A full City clearing will take up to 16 hours, longer if we receive a massive snowfall as we did last year.

When does snow get cleared?

With well over 3,000 km of roads and sidewalks to maintain in Markham, it’s clear our plows can’t be everywhere at once. Our top priority is road safety and access for emergency vehicles, with the higher travelled roads being cleared first. Our road network consists of 1. Arterial Roads 2. Primary Roads 3. Secondary Roads 4. Local roads & Laneways, and 5. Cul-de-Sacs, and this is the order in which they are cleared.

Laneways are cleared with Front Loaders, which take more time than plows as the buckets must be emptied regularly.They cannot be done simultaneously as the plows are faster.

Please contact the City or my office if you feel your driveway was missed and to confirm you are on the list.

Please Note: Laneways are not part of the windrow clearing program as Front Loaders do not normally leave windrows. After visiting many laneways last year, I photographed some laneways where windrows were indeed created. We passed this information, with photos, photos on to staff. They advised this can occur when the Operator does not empty the bucket regularly. Staff assure me they have made this a top priority going forward. There may be a small snow line but no windrow, and we will be inspecting laneways as we do every year to ensure that there are no windrows left after clearing.

Winter parking restrictions are in effect between Nov. 15 and April 15

There is NO parking permitted on any street during snow clearing. Please expect up to 24 hours of no parking, and  please contact the City to ensure your street will not have further clearing before you park on the street. Permit holders in Cornell have designated areas for overnight parking to avoid ticketing, during the day your permit does not allow you to park on the street unless the clearing is completed. When in doubt check it out with us or the Contact Centre.

Lay-bys also need to be cleared, so if you park in a lay-by which is not yet cleared you may be ticketed. We receive many complaints that vehicles are on the street when the plow cleared, leaving a mess. We often cannot get back there until much later. Vehicles overhanging the sidewalk and road causes the plough to veer away from the sidewalk or curb causing damage to sod as well as leaving snow on the road.

Read more about winter parking restrictions in our earlier article found here.

Sidewalk plows

Training and retaining operators has been a challenge since the pandemic. While some sod and property damage cannot be avoided we are hopeful this will be reduced  this season with improved staffing in place. However if you do experience property damage this winter, please email us and we will get it on the spring list for repair.

During snow storms, Markham’s Winter Maintenance App* will show the progress of road and sidewalk plows in Markham. Residents can watch as snow clearing efforts start with primary roads and then move to secondary roads, local roads, and sidewalks to help keep Markham moving.

Please check the website, it should give you an idea where you are on the clearing. There were a number of days the App was down last year, this has been addressed, and the system will be upgraded in 2024/2025.

And here’s a reminder from our By-law Department “Under the Road Occupancy By-law, we wish to remind everyone that there should be no disposing of snow on any municipal road. Please do not shovel snow back onto the road during or after snow clearing operations.
In addition, please ensure the fire hydrant is clear of snow for easy access and visibility during emergencies. In an emergency, every second counts.”