Winter time is here again and with it comes blankets of snow.
We offer a reminder about the City of Castlegar’s prioritized snowplow routes and how you as a resident can help out.
Castlegar has over 90 kilometres of roads and 20 kilometres of sidewalks that need to be maintained during the winter.
The City of Castlegar explains on its website (castlegar.ca/services_civicworks_snow.php) that in the interest of public safety, streets are maintained on a priority basis.
Priority one includes Columbia Avenue and Arrow Lakes Drive from 18th Street to the industrial plants.
Collector (i.e. garbage, recycling) and residential roads with hills with grades greater than nine per cent are also included in priority one.
Priority two includes access to emergency service buildings — the Castlegar Health Centre, the firehall, police station and ambulance station — all collector roads, access to schools, commercial and industrial areas, and sidewalks in the downtown core.
Typically priority one and two routes will be completed 12 hours after the end of a snowstorm, depending on the snowfall and duration.
Priority three is all remaining residential streets, snow hauling from central business areas — 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets and Columbia Avenue — street widening, access to water and sewer facilities and access to hydrants.
Priority four routes include lanes, all remaining sidewalks, city-owned parking lots, cleared paths to the roadway at bus stops and turnouts and the remaining snow hauling.
To help keep everything running smoothly, residents and businesses should remove any unused vehicles, boats, trails, etc. from the streets, clear snow and ice from the sidewalk fronting their properties, and park vehicles off city roads during snow removal or when a snow removal sign is in place.
Residents should not remove snow from their own driveways onto city streets. Instead, when facing the street, remove snow to the right of the driveway to help reduce the amount of snow deposited across driveways during plowing.
The city does not clear snow left in front of private driveways — a.k.a. windrows.
If you have a neighbour who is unable to do this work themselves, the City of Castlegar encourages you to help out, and if you have a neighbour who steps up to help you with your snow shovelling, remember to nominate them for the city’s Snow Busters program.
The city also reminds residents to be safe around trucks and snowplows, as they frequently slow down, turn and back up. Children should be reminded not to play around them either.
Residents should also not place steel posts or rocks on city boulevards, as these can cause equipment damage and injury.
Snow removal related inquiries can be directed to the Castlegar Snow Phone at 250-365-7244, 24 hours a day.