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With light snow in the forecast, the city’s priority snow clearing plan could be in effect before the end of the day, just over a week since the last major snowfall that generated an above-average number of calls to the city’s 311 line has.
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Since the winter storm blanketed most of southern Alberta until Nov. 7, the city has received nearly 750 snow-related calls to 311 as of 10 a.m. on Nov. 15. The majority of those calls were for plowing and sanding requests, with 245 and 234 calls respectively.
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The third most common complaint, with 125 calls, was for snow plowed onto sidewalks. Thirty-three calls were made for sidewalk and path cleaning requests.
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Chris McGeachy with the city’s mobility department said Wednesday there had been about 50 calls to 311 in the previous 24 hours, bringing the number closer to 800.
“The challenge with this last snow event was that we had continued snowfall over several days, and then it was coupled with those extreme low temperatures. That can create challenges, especially when the snow doesn’t move,” he said, adding the number of calls was “definitely above our average.”
“Once we get past that first 36 hours (of our plan), then we move on to other duties. So that includes monitoring those major roads, but it can include work in residential areas, including leveling tracks and applying materials as needed. This is what our teams are currently doing, they are focused on trouble spots, responding to service requests and also monitoring the forecast.”