Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Regina’s snowplows are gearing up to face the full brunt of a blizzard heading the city’s way.
According to Environment Canada, winds will gust to as high as 70 kilometres per hour and 15 to 25 centimetres of snow could fall by the time Saturday night rolls around.
Tyler Bien, the City of Regina’s manager of seasonal roadway operations, says crews are on standby, waiting to get the call to plow the roads.
“Our storm response will start when the snow starts falling,” Bien said Friday. “Typically we focus on the high-speed (and) high-volume roads, high-risk intersections, as well as emergency routes.
“Through the storm response, we have roughly around 50 pieces of equipment on the road at any given time,” he added. “We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We’ll have equipment out there at all hours of the day pushing snow and applying ice control as needed.”
The city will focus on clearing main roads like Ring Road, Arcola Avenue and Lewvan Drive.
The 10 to 15 centimetres of snow isn’t so much the area of concern for Bien, but he says the drifts are what plow crews will have to watch out for.
They know the spots that see the most buildup are perimeters near city parks and open areas.
But with that being said, Bien asks the public to notify the city if they see any excess buildup outside of their normal trouble spots.
“If you do come upon a road that’s unpassable, call Service Regina and let us know so we can get that cleared as soon as possible,” he said.
If you’re planning on heading out in the storm to run errands over the next 24 hours, Bien suggested you plan ahead.
“If you do have to travel, plan your route,” he said. “Stay away from those perimeter areas and if you come upon any snow removal equipment, please leave 3 1/2 carlengths and let them do what they’re trying to do.”
He reminds people that residential roads won’t be plowed until 15 centimetres of snow has fallen, but noted the city is monitoring the storm.
As for snow routes, those will be put in place once five centimetres of snow has fallen. The city says it will notify people if those parking bans are put in place.
