Does Calgary Do Enough on The Roads In Winter? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

SteveToms · 10-29-2006, 11:10 PM

Like Sanding, Plowing Etc?

I think no, not even close to what we should do

Ironhorse · 10-29-2006, 11:21 PM

We do live in Canada. We do get snow. To expect clear roads within hours of a major snow fall is unrealistic, IMHO.

I had absolutely no problems getting around today in either of my vehicles. One of them is a 4WD. The other one has appropriate boots on for winter driving.

Looger · 10-29-2006, 11:27 PM

not even close to the scandalously mishandled privatization of some northern bc towns' snow removal.

but there's always a chinook around the corner...

right?

Barnes · 10-29-2006, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Like Sanding, Plowing Etc?

I think no, not even close to what we should do

Nope. Drove around all day and saw no plows. Did drive through an intersection that had been salted but the one after that wasn't, nor the one after that, nor the one after that..... What's the point?

I guarantee it will take me half an hour to drive the 3kms to the train tomorrow because the 3 intersections on the way there have better ice than the Dome right now.

Barnes · 10-29-2006, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I had absolutely no problems getting around today in either of my vehicles. One of them is a 4WD. The other one has appropriate boots on for winter driving.

Both my vehicles are 4 bys and like you, I had no trouble geting around. Maybe we can discuss this more tomorrow morning when we are stuck in traffic together because there is 73 accidents between us and our destination.

Hemi-Cuda · 10-29-2006, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnes

Both my vehicles are 4 bys and like you, I had no trouble geting around. Maybe we can discuss this more tomorrow morning when we are stuck in traffic together because there is 73 accidents between us and our destination.

maybe if Calgary didn't have the country's worst drivers a little snow wouldn't cause so many problems. i don't have my winter tires on yet, and the summer performace tires on my FWD car right now don't handle snow well at all, yet i managed to get around just fine today realizing that i had **** for traction and taking the neccessary precautions. of course i'm getting my winter tires put on tomorrow so that it'll make driving that much easier, and with the proper tires on and some common sense, snow should never be that big of an issue. sadly though we are severely lacking in the second category in this city

Shazam · 10-30-2006, 12:02 AM

Quote:

We do live in Canada. We do get snow. To expect clear roads within hours of a major snow fall is unrealistic, IMHO.

Well, it certainly was the norm just a few years ago. Unfortunately the City of Calgary's budget for snow removal has not been raised in terms of roads/dollar.

On the other hand, Edmonton has a snow removal fleet that embarasses ours.

Hack&Lube · 10-30-2006, 12:16 AM

It's bloody Sunday, expecting the city to have all its winter road crews out on the night of a sudden snow storm on Saturday night so all the roads are clear is unrealistic.

But it should be done by Monday morning.

Shazam · 10-30-2006, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

It's bloody Sunday, expecting the city to have all its winter road crews out on the night of a sudden snow storm on Saturday night so all the roads are clear is unrealistic.

But it should be done by Monday morning.

It wasn't a sudden snow storm. It was forecast quite well in advance. And Sunday is a great day to clear the roads.

What's really frustrating is that the head of snow removal uses the same excuses. "Oh, it was a surprise storm", "Oh, it's a weekend" and of course "Oh, there's rush hour traffic". That guy has an excuse for everything.

JiriHrdina · 10-30-2006, 12:28 AM

I was at a party a few years ago where there was a guy there that was a plower with the city. Talked to him at great length about the job, the challenges of keeping a city like Calgary clear and what the costs to do so would be. To be honest I don't remember a lot of what he said (as I said it was a few years ago) but I came away with an appreciation of how big a challenge it is.

OILFAN #81 · 10-30-2006, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I was at a party a few years ago where there was a guy there that was a plower with the city. Talked to him at great length about the job, the challenges of keeping a city like Calgary clear and what the costs to do so would be. To be honest I don't remember a lot of what he said (as I said it was a few years ago) but I came away with an appreciation of how big a challenge it is.

Must have been quite the party......

And I used to live in Fort McMurray and the crew up there did an amazing job. The city was obviously alot smaller then Edmonton/Calgary so it could be easily maintained but they did a 10/10 job. Living in Edmonton for the past 4 years or so, I can say Edmonton crews do a 8.5/10 job. They are out there after big snow falls but at the same time on a day like today, the road conditions were horrible around the city. I saw alot of cars slip and slide. They do a good job, but could be a little better. As for Calgary, i'm there alot in the winter (about 8 trips) and it's pretty much like Edmonton on that regard. They do a good job for the most part but it could be better (however as someone mentioned it might be unrealistic to clear everything right away).

Vulcan · 10-30-2006, 12:46 AM

I always got a kick out of recent arrivals from the east. They'd say, it's been over a week now and they havn't cleared the road in front of my house yet. I didn't have the heart to tell them the bad news.

Shazam · 10-30-2006, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I always got a kick out of recent arrivals from the east. They'd say, it's been over a week now and they havn't cleared the road in front of my house yet. I didn't have the heart to tell them the bad news.

In Ontario, et al, every road is cleared. They have to. If they didn't, come January the snow drift would be 20 feet high.

There's times there where you'll drive through areas where there's 10 feet of snow beside you.

metallicat · 10-30-2006, 03:20 AM

I'm one of those city sander/plow operators everyone loves to hate. Someone said it, but it was apparently a bitch getting people to work this weekend. Half the people are out of town, half of the ones left in the city are drunk/stoned...it doesn't leave you with a lot of options.

I just got off work, and the roads here are fine. A little slippery, but if people would just drive smarter, there wouldn't be so many problems.

Daradon · 10-30-2006, 06:00 AM

Boo hoo.

I drive around a lot every day in a rear wheel drive. It sucks in the winter. But I don't blame the city. They're doing very well. Imagine life without them. They are out in late hours, in morning hours. It's weather, it's Canada, it's unpredictable.

You're too used to your internet and your cable TV. This is weather and real life. It's real, unpredictible and takes time.

Dirty Mr. Clean · 10-30-2006, 07:14 AM

I have lived in a number of towns and cities and Calgary does a very good job of snow and ice removal. They sand and salt for more then most cities. The issue lies in the fact that people don't drive to the conditions of the road.

ken0042 · 10-30-2006, 07:15 AM

Having lived in Winnipeg it is possible to have all the major roads plowed within hours of a storm. But you also have to keep in mind the costs involved. IIRC in 1996 Winnipeg's snow removal budget was around $53 million whereas Calgary's was around $5 M. To give a city the size of Calgary the same level of snow removal as Winnipeg each of us would have to fork out an extra $100 per year in taxes.

MacDougalbry · 10-30-2006, 07:59 AM

Although snow clearing is expensive, the cost of clearing roads is dwarfed by the cost to insurers and drivers due to accidents. I'm sorry to say that the city did NOT do a good job of clearing the roads yesterday. I was coming in from out of town, so I was forced to drive, and I couldn't really see any indication that they'd done anything to the entire stretch of 16th Ave (Hwy1!) or Sarcee Trail (OK, maybe they sanded once a lot earlier in the day, but it was hard to tell). On the big hill on Bow Trail west of Sarcee, there were cars all over the place sliding around, unable to make it up the hill.

Everyone buying 4WD's is not the solution... research shows that they don't have lower accident rates in winter, principally because people end up driving faster and 4WD is of no value when you go to hit the brakes.

MacDougalbry · 10-30-2006, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

Having lived in Winnipeg it is possible to have all the major roads plowed within hours of a storm. But you also have to keep in mind the costs involved. IIRC in 1996 Winnipeg's snow removal budget was around $53 million whereas Calgary's was around $5 M. To give a city the size of Calgary the same level of snow removal as Winnipeg each of us would have to fork out an extra $100 per year in taxes.

Just to reinforce my previous post, it is possible for one serious injury accident collision alone to cost $5 million dollars to settle.

Looger · 10-30-2006, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacDougalbry

Just to reinforce my previous post, it is possible for one serious injury accident collision alone to cost $5 million dollars to settle.

as with most things of this nature, the people directly deciding what to budget for the roads, are not obligated to cover expenses that their mistakes incur.