3. I’m unable to clear my sidewalk. What can I do?

If you cannot clear your sidewalks because of health or mobility restrictions, there are several local agencies that can help. Call ahead for details as there may be fees and eligibility requirements.

• City of Waterloo Home Support Services - 519-579-6930

• House of Friendship - 519-742-8327

• The Working Centre - 519-513-9225

4. Why are courts, elbows and cul-de-sacs often cleared later than most streets?

Culs-de-sac and radius elbow corners are not able to be cleared by City of Waterloo snow plows. In these areas, large snowblowers are used to clear snow after plows have serviced other parts of the road. Please do not park your car on these areas during or after snowfalls - it makes snow clearing even more difficult if there are cars in these spaces.

Our crews sometimes load snow in the middle of culs-de-sac, on boulevards, or parts of radius corners throughout the winter to save the time and money of removing it from your neighbourhood.

5. A plow has damaged my property. What can I do?

You can call 519-886-2310. Plow damage is documented during the winter months and fixed in the spring.

6. What is the response time for City of Waterloo plow drivers? If it snows in the middle of the night, are drivers called in?

From early November to the end of March, we are staffed 24/7. If the weather forecast indicates a substantial amount of snow overnight, additional staff are called in.

7. Does the city prepare and schedule based on weather forecasts?

For events with large amounts of snow, yes.

8. Why do I never see a plow or salt truck while it’s snowing?

The plows are on the main roads, bus routes and areas with hills first. It takes time to get to all streets within the city. Under the province’s regulations, our drivers can drive for a maximum of 13 hours and then they are required to have a minimum of eight hours off. As noted in question 1, we may not need to get to certain streets based on the amount of snow that has fallen.

9. How is it decided which roads are done first?

The main roads (Regional roads such as King, Weber, Erb, etc. and city streets like Columbia), bus routes and streets with hills are done first. Once those routes are done, we move onto the collector roadways and then into the local streets.

10. How much does the city spend on winter control annually?

The budget for winter control (including sidewalk/multi-use trail clearing which Parks completes) is approximately $2.6 million for 2018.

11. Who is responsible for clearing bus stops?

Grand River Transit is responsible for clearing all of their bus stops.

12. What are my responsibilities as a property owner?

Our sidewalk clearing by-law requires home and business owners to clear sidewalks adjacent to their properties within 24 hours after the end of a snowfall or ice storm. Not clearing your sidewalks can result in city crews clearing them at your expense.

13. How does the City of Waterloo coordinate snow removal with the Region of Waterloo and City of Kitchener?

The City of Waterloo clears the regional roads on behalf of the Region. The Region does not do any snow clearing in the three cities. We have an agreement with the City of Kitchener for the border streets.

Under our joint services initiative, both cities work together to ensure that winter maintenance and leaf collection for these border streets are effective and efficient.

Waterloo maintains the following border streets for Kitchener under its winter maintenance program:

Bridge Street West from city limit to Woolwich Street

Bridgeport Road East from city limit to Leander Place

Dodd's Lane from city limit to Pine Street

Hartwood Avenue from city limit to Margaret Avenue

Hartwood Place

Herbert Street from city limit to Pine Street

Maple Hill Drive

Mary Street from city limit to Pine Street

Pine Street

Westmount Road West from city limit to Union Boulevard

Kitchener maintains the following border streets for Waterloo under its winter maintenance program:

Aberdeen Road from city limit to Forsyth Drive

Avondale Avenue from city limit to John Street West

Belmont Avenue from city limit to John Street West

Dunbar Road from city limit to John Street West

Ellis Crescent South from city limit to Union Street East

Esson Street from city limit to John Street West

Fischer Hallman Road from Glasgow Street to University Avenue West

Graham Street

King Street South from city limit to Union Street East

Margaret Avenue from city limit to Union Street East

Moore Avenue South from city limit to Union Street East

Severn Street from city limit to John Street West

Union Street West from Union Boulevard to King Street South

Waterloo Street from city limit to Moore Avenue South

Weber Street South from city limit to Hartwood Avenue

14. Will the City of Waterloo be affected by the provincial salt shortage?

Our loads of salt were delivered at the end of September and our salt shed is full at this time. I am not aware of a provincial salt shortage.

15. What can residents do to create more efficiency with snow removal?

Residents can assist us by parking their cars in their driveways. Many times we have to return to streets as we cannot safely clear the road because of the parked cars. If we can maneuver around the parked car, when the car does leave the street, there is snow left where it had been parked. Having to return to streets is not efficient.

Also understanding that depending on the class of road that you live on, we do not necessarily have to plow to the curb to meet the maintenance standards. Question 1 with the photos provides this information.