Surrey snow-clearing crews are ready with a 17,000-tonne mountain of salt - Surrey Now-Leader
An online Plow Tracker and live-streaming traffic cameras are among tools and equipment used in Surrey to help residents prepare for winter driving.
When snow falls, residents can check surrey.ca/snow to see which roads have been plowed and also track the city's 77-unit fleet of snow-clearing, de-icing trucks, backhoes and tractors.
City crews appear ready for winter at Surrey Works Yard, off 148 Street, where a floor-to-ceiling mountain of road salt (17,000 tonnes of it) is stored in a shed, along with road-brining solution.
All that salt might be needed if meteorologists are correct with forecasts of a colder, wetter winter in Metro Vancouver.
"You could boil a lot of pasta water with that pile of salt," joked Yonatan Yohannes, Surrey's director of engineering operations, a job he'll have for a second winter.
Ensuring 4,200 kilometres of Surrey roads are safe and passable this winter "is a top priority for the City of Surrey,” Mayor Brenda Locke said during a Dec. 5 news conference.
"We all have a role to play in helping keep our community safe this winter," Locke added. "Please do your part to clear snow and ice from sidewalks outside your home and prepare your vehicle for winter driving.”
The city works yard is also home to Surrey's traffic camera network and road/weather information system, used for snow-removal efforts.
Surrey uses a three-level route priority system, first focused on arterial roads, major collector roads, bus routes and hilly areas.
Some of Surrey's major routes, including highways 10, 15 and 17, are of provincial snow-clearing concern for crews of Mainroad Contracting, Yohannes noted.
"We are in constant communications with those contractors to make sure all roads are taken care of, because at the end of the day it's our residents who drive those areas, those streets," he said.
Details about Surrey's Winter Snow & Ice Control Operations are posted on surrey.ca/snow. Residents can report a snow or ice problem by calling 604-591-4152, or call 604-591-4370 to report un-shovelled properties in Surrey.
Those who don't clear snow off sidewalks may be fined under City of Surrey’s Highway and Traffic Bylaw at rates of $80 per day (businesses) and $55 per day (residential).
Speaking of money, the Surrey engineering department’s 2024 winter maintenance budget is $4.61 million, $2.74 of which has been spent since January, according to a Snow and Ice Operations report to city council in November. "If seasonal temperatures remain favourable for the balance of the winter season, the Engineering Department will likely be within the allocated budget for 2024," the report notes.
