Does Calgary Do Enough on The Roads In Winter?

[habernac]

I was 2100km away and I knew it was going to snow here Sunday so I left a day early. I had to go to the store Sunday at noon and the roads weren't sanded or plowed. If I was only talking residential it wouldn't be bad but this was Country Hills Blvd. If I'm 5 states away and can see a potential issue, someone in the City should be planning to deal with the situation.

[Looger]

Originally Posted by fotze

If people paid taxes based on the amount of km's they drive then I would be all for plowing everything everywhere all the time.

i hope this doesn't come aboot but it is more fair, no doubt.

it could be said however that people that don't drive do tke the bus however.

my point mostly was that insurance payouts aren't covered by municipal governments.

there seems to be some great movement in government these days towards taxes by km, which i find to be not a good development.

personally i think calgary's snow problems aren't bad enough for a total overhaul of our removal, it's not great but there are few days that calgary is ground to a halt.

the core problem really is driver skill, but since that's not going to improve anytime soon then the only way to have less accidents on snowy days from a government perspective is throw mopre money down the snow removal hole.

[Barnes]

I don't think anyone is advocating clearing all roads but to not have the majors salted, sanded, or plowed AT ALL is ridiculous.

[mykalberta]

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.

5 mil in Canada - I think you might be pushing the envelope there - also the city isnt normally financially liable for accidents unless there is a grevious error like incorrect traffic lights etc.

MYK

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

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

You have obviously never spent a significant time driving in Edmonton, Grande Prairie or Medicine Hat, to name just three Alberta cities with far worse drivers, let alone the rest of this country.

[jolinar of malkshor]

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.

Wouldn't that be the perfect time to do it?? Sunday when there are fewer cars on the road. Although weather forcasting is not 100% on, people know what is going to happen the day before. They knew it was going to be cold and snowy Sat. They should have been prepared. They are always behind the eightball.

[ken0042]

So it seems the majority is in favour of paying an extra $100 per year. In that case I would send an email to your alderman saying that you would like the snow removal budget increased, and you would like to pay for it.

You can contact them here:
Email Alderman

[Ace]

Originally Posted by Barnes

I don't think anyone is advocating clearing all roads but to not have the majors salted, sanded, or plowed AT ALL is ridiculous.

Exactly, Stoney Trail hadn't even been touched by 9:30am on Sunday. I always thought the city at least sent crews down Deerfoot, Stoney, Crowchild, Mcleod, mcknight/John Lorier, Country Hills, & 16th avenue...during the night of a snow fall.

Nobody is saying "plow the cul-de-sac in front of my house.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So it seems the majority is in favour of paying an extra $100 per year. In that case I would send an email to your alderman saying that you would like the snow removal budget increased, and you would like to pay for it.

You can contact them here:
Email Alderman

Not sure where you're getting the $53 million budget for Winnipeg:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...-20051115.html

Also, where are you getting the $100/year extra figure from?

[shane_c]

I think the efforts are pathetic at best. It seems all they do is wait for a Chinook to come along to clear the roads. If we get a few cm's it gets packed down and becomes ice. Since they use mostly rocks and very little salt it doesn't go away. In NS it would be down to the pavement in no time and there were never a shortage of plows going around. But then again there were a lot of rusty cars from the salt too.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by shane_c

I think the efforts are pathetic at best. It seems all they do is wait for a Chinook to come along to clear the roads. If we get a few cm's it gets packed down and becomes ice. Since they use mostly rocks and very little salt it doesn't go away. In NS it would be down to the pavement in no time and there were never a shortage of plows going around. But then again there were a lot of rusty cars from the salt too.

Salt doesn't do anything below ~ -13c. And they do salt the roads. It's mixed in with the gravel.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Not sure where you're getting the $53 million budget for Winnipeg:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...-20051115.html

Also, where are you getting the $100/year extra figure from?

Sorry, back in the 90's they used to refer to the budget as a per season basis. Looks like they are doing a calendar year thing, so there's $14.1 M left in the 2006 budget. I could also have the number wrong; when I left Winnipeg the Internet wasn't anywhere near what it is now so we would have to take news reporters at their word.

As for the $100 per year; it was an approximation of there being 500,000 households in Calgary splitting a $50M budget.

In any case; a city like Winnipeg spends way more than Calgary because they have to; the snow will not "just melt" like it does here. And if it gets left behind it just accumulates. My point remains; if people want extra services like they get in other cities are they also willing to pay for those sevices?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Sorry, back in the 90's they used to refer to the budget as a per season basis. Looks like they are doing a calendar year thing, so there's $14.1 M left in the 2006 budget. I could also have the number wrong; when I left Winnipeg the Internet wasn't anywhere near what it is now so we would have to take news reporters at their word.

As for the $100 per year; it was an approximation of there being 500,000 households in Calgary splitting a $50M budget.

In any case; a city like Winnipeg spends way more than Calgary because they have to; the snow will not "just melt" like it does here. And if it gets left behind it just accumulates. My point remains; if people want extra services like they get in other cities are they also willing to pay for those sevices?

I'll gladly pay more for better snow removal. It is very expensive for me to be stuck in traffic for two hours, as well as paying higher insurance premiums for all the accidents that occur. I don't think it'll be $100/year extra.

[shane_c]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Salt doesn't do anything below ~ -13c. And they do salt the roads. It's mixed in with the gravel.

The concentration of salt is very low though.

[Looger]

it's not just the yearly budget but it's also the initial investment in equipment and infrastructure, storage, mechanics, clerical, plus all the usual BS that comes with it.

and mayors that set that up get voted out when there's three mild winters in a row.

[White Doors]

It doesn't snow enough in Calgary to justify this. Know that the roads will be crappy and go to work early. Stop expecting the government to do everything for you.

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by shane_c

The concentration of salt is very low though.

i wish they didn't use any salt at all! they never used to.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by White Doors

It doesn't snow enough in Calgary to justify this. Know that the roads will be crappy and go to work early. Stop expecting the government to do everything for you.

Sure, I'll just go to work at 4am. That should get me there by 8am. And I'll leave at 7pm. Maybe everybody else should too.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by fotze

I think part of the problem is that the city has such a massive footprint with low density making it not very sustainable to maintain every road.

And everyone in the inner city is paying for it, right fotze?

The roads are fine. People just need to realize that "All season tires" are only designed for fall, spring, and summer. They are not four season tires. If everyone bought winter tires like you should anywhere in Canada east of Vancouver, we would have no problem.

[troutman]

Call Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again, is Mr. Plow!

-Homer