Winter Weather Begins This Week

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by MJM

A little amount of snow like this should not cripple a Canadian city.

I'm not defending the city's efforts, but I think that the problem isn't so much the snow but the water and slush overnight combined with the temperature drop. That being said, we keep hearing about that special chemical they apply before storms that never seems to do anything.

[burn_this_city]

Has anyone actually seen a city sander out?? I saw two Carmacks rigs on 22x by Deerfoot, but nothing from the city.

[SuperMatt18]

Yeah I agree the biggest problem today was not snow accumulation but the fact that we were hit with freezing rain first, which led to the ice build up.

Then you had the strong winds and blowing snow after that which just compounded the problem.

I actually think that is always the cause of the biggest issues with the roads is the freezing rain and the strong wind and not the snow.

Coming in from Chestermere this morning was a slow go, it seems that the Highways outside of the city were not looked after at all by Rocky-View which is the opposite of the regular conditions. The Trans-Canada from Chestermere to the city limits was just a sheet of ice.

The roads in the City were really good in comparison and for once the city actually seemed prepared for this.

[Ashartus]

Was going to take the bus (104) today, but after waiting half an hour gave up and drove (later saw a bus going the other way, but it was still about 15 min from my stop and probably would've been full by the time it got there). The drive downtown was a bit slower than usual, but not excessively horrible - maybe an extra 10 minutes compared to usual.

[GirlySports]

yay! i made it to work!

[Misterpants]

I hate when I get to the office and there's no one around. It makes me wish I stayed in bed cause it was "too snowy" to go to work.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Has anyone actually seen a city sander out?? I saw two Carmacks rigs on 22x by Deerfoot, but nothing from the city.

NENSHI OUT!!!

I came from McKenzie Towne this AM and I think it took me as long to get out of the turning circle and onto Deerfoot as the rest of my drive to work.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

NENSHI OUT!!!

I came from McKenzie Towne this AM and I think it took me as long to get out of the turning circle and onto Deerfoot as the rest of my drive to work.

52nd Street was pretty quick, the traffic circle is bad, even on a good day.

[KevanGuy]

Only 17 accidents so far.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Misterpants

I hate when I get to the office and there's no one around. It makes me wish I stayed in bed cause it was "too snowy" to go to work.

Nobody's there eh? Time to walk around buck.

[MJM]

More snow tires may help, but that's not the problem at all here in Calgary. The problem here is there is zero preventative measures taken in advance of the storm. They do absolultely nothing, the snow/freezing rain hits and coats the ground, snow piles on top of it, cars start to drive on it. Voila, you have an ice field on every street that can last for weeks. The city sends their trucks out hours after the storm is done, and it's an absolute waste of time because the damage is already done.

I grew up in a town where a 40 cm snow storm a week was the norm. The night/day before every storm the trucks would be about coating the streets with salt and gravel for hours in advance. Snow hits, the first bit of it would melt because it it the salt/gravel solution, reducing the ice build up, they'd give the major roads a quick sweep in the morning before traffic hit packing it all down, and everyone went on their merry little way.

Now Calgary can't too this for all it's street, but it goddamn should be doing it for major roads used in the commute. This is the city dropping the ball, not a lack of snow tires. I kept saying to my wife last night, "Why the hell aren't the trucks out getting the roads ready". It's now almost 10 am and I have yet to see ONE salt truck, and haven't seen one plow on the road. This wasn't a freak storm, we knew about it for days in advance.

This city is completely F'ed when it comes to snow removal/maintenance. We can build a 25 million dollar bridge so the yuppies in Kensington can save themself a block on their way home, but we can't look after our roads. Idiocy at its finest.

[MJM]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I'm not defending the city's efforts, but I think that the problem isn't so much the snow but the water and slush overnight combined with the temperature drop. That being said, we keep hearing about that special chemical they apply before storms that never seems to do anything.

They aren't doing any preventive maintenance. That's the problem. These chemicals they are applying appear to be some sort of mythical creature. I didn't see one truck on the road last night, and I still haven't as of today.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by MJM

This city is completely F'ed when it comes to snow removal/maintenance. We can build a 25 million dollar bridge so the yuppies in Kensington can save themself a block on their way home, but we can't look after our roads. Idiocy at its finest.

I knew that it wouldn't be long before a bridge comment. You can't spend a provincial capital grant on an operational expense like clearing roads. More sanders, plows, crews, etc. = higher property taxes. It's a completely different pot than the money for the bridge.

I will agree with you that the preparation part is where this city fails with weather. I think that people need to separate the idea of snow removal from the concept of storm preparation/response. Scraping sidestreets to bare pavement is a waste of time and money, but keeping on top of the main roads before and during these storms is the key. And we could improve in that area, no question.

[MJM]

As we type right now, why the hell aren't there plows out on Crowchild sweeping the slush off the road in anticipation of the evening commute? I just drove it. All it would take would be a couple of passes and the roads (atleast the main ones) are good as new. I guarantee nothing will be done though, and tonight will be a way worse drive home than it has to be, especially if that slush turns into ice this afternoon.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by MJM

They aren't doing any preventive maintenance. That's the problem. These chemicals they are applying appear to be some sort of mythical creature. I didn't see one truck on the road last night, and I still haven't as of today.

I'm with you on that. I saw a couple of trucks this morning between 6:45 and 7:45, but unfortunately they seemed to be scraping everything down to a smooth icy sheen. They were applying what looked like sand and salt, but it would have been helpful if the focus had been to prevent the ice from forming in the first place instead of trying to melt it afterwards.

[mykalberta]

I think its the rain that turned to ice overnight and not the snow that is the crippling part.

[MJM]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I think its the rain that turned to ice overnight and not the snow that is the crippling part.

And if the roads had been properly salted and sprayed last night, the ice wouldn't have been formed, or atleast not to the degree it did.

[Superflyer]

Originally Posted by habernac

Attn bus driver: flooring it every time you leave a stop is not a good idea.

My bus got stuck on a small hill this morning and started going sideways. Instead of taking out the cars on the side of the road he made us all get off and he went out of service.
The next 2 buses were lined up behind him as they could not get around him but the cars could.
So I wound up walking a few blocks to a different bus, going to the train (now I remember why I don't take the train) and got to work 45 minutes late.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by MJM

More snow tires may help, but that's not the problem at all here in Calgary. The problem here is there is zero preventative measures taken in advance of the storm. They do absolultely nothing, the snow/freezing rain hits and coats the ground, snow piles on top of it, cars start to drive on it. Voila, you have an ice field on every street that can last for weeks. The city sends their trucks out hours after the storm is done, and it's an absolute waste of time because the damage is already done.

I grew up in a town where a 40 cm snow storm a week was the norm. The night/day before every storm the trucks would be about coating the streets with salt and gravel for hours in advance. Snow hits, the first bit of it would melt because it it the salt/gravel solution, reducing the ice build up, they'd give the major roads a quick sweep in the morning before traffic hit packing it all down, and everyone went on their merry little way.

But then people complain about salt-gravel wreaking their uber-SUVs

[MJM]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

But then people complain about salt-gravel wreaking their uber-SUVs

It already is anyways. They are putting on the roads, just not at the appropriate time.