Editor's Note -- this week's Quesnel Council News column is written by Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson. He can be reached via email here
In a recent meeting with Curl BC I got really excited about snow. As I’ve stated before, one of the reasons I love living here is that we get to enjoy all four seasons, and I enjoy winter outdoor activities as much as I do all the other seasons, but winter activities need snow!
The meeting we had with Curl BC was to plan for the upcoming Provincial Curling Championships that will be held in Quesnel at the West Fraser Centre from January 29 to February 3, 2019. The Men’s Curling Championship will feature 12 men’s teams competing for the chance to represent BC at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon, Manitoba. The BC Scotties Women’s Curling Championship will feature eight women’s teams competing for the chance to represent BC at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Tickets to the Quesnel events are available online at www.eventbrite.ca.
These Championship events will provide a significant boost to our local economy during the post-Christmas “retail doldrums” and are an ideal opportunity for us to showcase Quesnel to a large TV audience. That’s why I got excited about snow during the meeting with Curl BC, as we were reviewing the City’s new winter promotional videos with their media team. These videos, which show people being active outdoors in the winter, are gorgeous and present our City and region as a really fun place to be when the white stuff comes.
But, my excitement to see the snow come is clearly tempered by the other aspects of this inevitable part of winter: the potentially treacherous driving conditions and the costs of snow removal.
As we’ve experienced with the first bit of snow this year, it makes driving a challenge and it takes a while for both the City crews and Emcon Services (highways and Cariboo Regional District) to get around to the side roads as they must focus on the priority thoroughfares where the bulk of the traffic is moving. The City of Quesnel has very high standards for snow removal and I believe our crews do an excellent job of clearing and sanding our roads in a timely manner. We also provide an end of driveway clearing service when we get larger snow events.
The high standards for snow removal established by Council come with a price: about $1 million per year or approximately 6% of our general operating expenses. This year, as a result of the big snow events that occurred earlier in the year, we have already surpassed $1 million and will be tapping into our nominal snow reserve to cover any additional costs for snow removal in 2018. Council believes these costs are warranted in order to ensure we can make our roads and sidewalks as safe as possible during the winter months.
However, as a result of a changing climate, snow removal is increasingly becoming a challenge. We are now experiencing more “snow events” (continuous or back-to-back snow storms with large accumulations of snow) and winter temperatures that keep popping above and below zero, rather than settling into a few months of below zero conditions. The combination of these snow events and freeze/thaw conditions is challenging for our crews, despite the significant budget we put toward this public service.
So, while many of us look forward to and enjoy the different outdoor activities snow affords us, we must all take the necessary steps to ensure we can move about safely when the white stuff comes: have good winter tires on our vehicles, wear good winter footwear and/or put traction devices on our footwear, and drive and walk in accordance with the conditions. In some cases, this may mean avoiding travelling until our crews have had a chance to do their job.
No comments:
Post a Comment