By Jessica Jones For the Independent
With the first blast of snowfall recently, Stettler County Public Works is gearing up for its snow removal season, advising residents that it could take upwards of a week for crews to clear away large amounts of snowfall from primary road networks.
County of Stettler Director of Operations Rick Green says that crews would first concentrate on the main road network, followed by laneway and road shoulder clearing.
“Activities, such as school or work, may need to be adjusted on major events, or planning alternate vehicles with higher clearance for necessary trips, should take place,” he said.
Green explains that 15 cm of snowfall is the guideline the County follows to identify needs and their response to service requests.
The County of Stettler prioritizes its snow plowing, itemized in its Snow Plowing Service Standards policy, by first plowing its hard-surfaced roads, such as in hamlets and subdivisions, followed by the access roads to subdivisions.
Crews would then work on plowing gravel roads, and later start laneway plowing.
Green says that approximately 60 of the County’s residents have signed up to receive the laneway snow plowing service, available for farms and acreages.
“Laneways are our last priority with no one laneway taking priority over others,” Green said.
“Work completed is focused on the fastest way to accomplish the clearing without backtracking,” he added.
The County of Stettler doesn’t specifically budget for snow removal, stating that, “It is handled through a number of budget areas,” such as the cost of fuel, wages, and capital equipment costs.
County of Stettler Director of Communications Niki Thorsteinsson says the County has put enough money aside in its budget to, “Keep all our graders and plow trucks moving full-time for the entire season.
“In the event that we have a light snow year and we don’t have the big snow events or episodes, we end up with a little surplus in our budget,” she said.
For more information visit, www.stettlercounty.ca, contact, info@stettlercounty.ca or call 403-742-4441.