After the city was hit with a month’s worth of snow over the past few days, residents took to social media to express frustration with the city’s snow clearing efforts as some roads and sidewalks remained uncleared.
Unrelenting snow squalls dropped around 46 centimetres of snow on Orillia between Friday night and Sunday morning, with the city scrambling to keep up with road and sidewalk clearing throughout that time.
In a social media post on Jan. 3, the city stressed that “with such heavy snowfall, it takes time to plow the entire city,” pointing out that main roads are prioritized in snow clearing efforts.
“Due to the volume of snow, multiple passes are needed on all streets and sidewalks,” the post read. “During a snow event, we aim to clear roads within 24 hours and sidewalks within 48 hours after snow stops falling.”
Nonetheless, numerous residents expressed frustration in the comments.
“Took over 24 hours to plow our road. Need to hire more people if you can't keep up,” said Caroline Duval Finley on Jan. 3. “I came home from work yesterday with snow almost to my knees, and got up this morning and still not plowed. People need to get to work. Also if there’s an emergency (it) makes it challenging when roads are not plowed.”
“They need to do better or hire more people,” said Ashley Black.
“Sidewalks are awful,” posted Cody Pittman.
In another post on Monday, the city said snow clearing efforts continue around the city.
“Crews are continuing the cleanup by clearing sidewalks and streets again and pushing back snow to widen roads where possible,” the post said. “We understand the frustration and concerns shared by residents as we all dig out from this significant storm. While we strive to clear roads and sidewalks as quickly as possible, circumstances like this mean it will take longer than usual.”
City staff told OrilliaMatters snow clearing crews “have been working extended shifts to their maximum allowable hours to address the conditions,” with all city roads now having been cleared at least once.
“Crews are now focusing on second passes, clearing intersections, snowbank management, and assessing areas for snow removal due to high volumes,” said Cheryl Remm, the city's director of facilities, climate change and operations.
“Crews are actively working to clear sidewalks, and we anticipate all sidewalks will be cleared by tomorrow morning, if not sooner.”
Remm requested residents to avoid parking on the street during heavy snowfall, noting some vehicles impeded plowing over the weekend.
Amid the snowfall, some city parks – such as Homewood Park – were cleared prior to certain roads and sidewalks, but Remm said parks and roads/sidewalks are cleared by two separate staff complements.
Sidewalks, she said, should be cleared by Tuesday morning.
“Park trails and sidewalk snow clearing are managed by two different staff teams, operating on separate schedules and using different equipment,” she said.
“Trail clearing is prioritized independently and does not impact the progress of sidewalk clearing. Crews are actively working to clear sidewalks, and we anticipate all sidewalks will be cleared by tomorrow morning.”
As the city works to clear snow from roads and sidewalks, Remm said she appreciates the public’s patience.
“We recognize the challenges posed by this significant snowfall and appreciate the community’s patience as we all dig out from the storm.”
