WL Residents: Help your City remove snow!

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

Every winter, the City of Williams Lake makes prompt and efficient snow removal a priority. During the recent snowfalls, the City has had every available piece of equipment on the streets to clear snow from roads and sidewalks.

Under the City’s Snow and Ice Control Policy, priority is given to the downtown core, where the objective is to have snow plowed, windrowed, and trucked away between 8 and 24 hours after a snow event. Within each of the City’s five snow removal zones, there are three areas with three different levels of priority. These roads will be the first to be plowed and treated following a snow event.

Residential areas will be plowed and windrowed for cleanup. This procedure will take approximately 24-96 hours to complete following the cleanup of the downtown core and will be done in conjunction with the solid waste collection route. Residents are asked to put garbage and recycling carts on the curb the morning of their collection day, not the night before, and to remove them from the curb as soon as possible following collection. Residents are also asked not to park cars overnight on City streets when there is snow. City Bylaws contain provisions to tow vehicles that interfere with snow removal operations at the owner’s expense.

Snow clearing of City sidewalks, parking lot stairs, walkways and public transit bus stops may be cleaned within 8 – 24 hours after a storm where the City receives 5 centimeters of snow or more. In cases of extreme snow events, City staff assigned to other duties will be assigned to assist in snow clearing operations. Property owners are required to clear sidewalks in front of their property, and are asked to refrain from pushing snow into the street, which creates a safety issue and slows down snow clearing operations.

“City snow removal operators are working hard to keep snow cleared, and they will continue to do so,” says Kevin Goldfuss, Director of Municipal Services. “We ask that residents help us do that job quickly, efficiently, and as cost-effective as possible by keeping the streets clear of vehicles and garbage carts while operators are out clearing snow.”