THUNDER BAY -- More city staff will be out during winter storms in 2017 as the roads division increases its commitment to location-specific snow removal.
Increased patrolling will begin on Jan. 1, meaning more supervisors and staff will be observing the effects of storms firsthand to tailor their response to areas that need removal the most.
"Depending on where the event is happening, if its an isolated location in the city, we'll focus more patrols in that area and check maybe sparser patrols in other areas," said city roads manager Brad Adams.
Adams said although the policy will become official next week, it has practically already begun. The city was spared the expected extreme weather events that were expected to deliver a hazardous amount of snow and ice on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but crews were ready
"Part of the standards now is, we have a tailored forecast that comes in four times a day and we have to be vigilant on that at least three times a day, to be sure we're aware of what's happening and what's going to happen," Adams said.
At a city council meeting earlier this month, Coun. Frank Pullia urged administration to conduct a full operations review for winter operations. Council voted to hold off asking for a review until it hears the results of its new route optimization software.
Pullia expressed hope over the coming change, adding he didn't hear the same dissatisfaction from constituents after Sunday night's storm as he heard during the first extreme storm of this winter.
He praised the efforts of city staff but warned the increase in extreme weather events will mean winter maintenance of the city's streets will be a complicated undertaking.
"I think it's important that we always review the way we do things," he said.
"It's part of the continuous improvement approach that we're taking across the city, especially with these types of extreme weather events."
In the aftermath of 2013 winter storms, the city began weighing snow removal budgets on a five-year average to account for extreme events versus years with less snow precipitation. Funds remaining in the snow removal budget at year's end are committed to a fund that ideally balances an increasingly unpredictable line item in the city's budget.
"Nobody can predict the weather," Pullia said.
"We know one thing: we're going to have more extreme weather events and what I'm saying is we need to be ready for those."
