Discussions

Hi Ebrandon,  
 
Just wondering if anyone out there has an explanation as to why I witnessed a city plow scrape snow from the medium of the roads. Iv been sitting here trying to figure this out, but I cant seem to figure out a reasonable explanation. If someone out there can explain this to me, I would greatly appreciate it.  
 
Edited by MichaelP, 2018-01-22 17:15:03

It is faster and cheaper then a grader or loader.

Sorry I was not clear enough on my explanation. It was a city grader AND loader. Thought letting the 2cm of snow melt would be cheaper...

They do it for a variety of reasons. The main reason is so that there’s room on the boulevard for future snow to be plowed up onto the boulevard and at the same time they remove the snow along the curb so the road doesn’t just keep getting narrower every time the snow is plowed. Also in some cases the snow gets pilled on the corners and can prevent drivers from seeing around the piles and then accidents happen from people taking chances.

Would be the street maintenance super want the curb/street edge of the median cleared of the ice and frozen grime while the ice is soft and not rock hard.  
Ice breaks away easier during mild temps and less wear and tear on the equipment.  
Also Wednesday forecast is 0c so a fast melt and then colder temps and snow is forecasted so I guess they want to be ready.  
Or  
it's a make work project for the work crew. In most cases the ice build up at the curb is 6 or so inches out so doing this work they are widening the the roadway making it safer and giving you a full lane to drive in and not infringing on the lane beside you.

Make work project

I agree, MichaelP. I just hope we see the same urgency of clearing 2cm of snow when we get 20cm of snow....

Budget. They have to use up there budget for the year or they will get less next year. It is the way our government works. If you come under budget you get less of it the next year and then when you really need it you don't have it. and if you are the guy in charge when you go over budget the eyes are on you as to why and you may not have a job by going over. Politics

that have already been mentioned. as well, if there is a lot of snow in the blvd, when it melts on a warm day it makes the road wet, they dont dry during the day so the roads can get iced over at night.slippery roads.  
 
also if you have 6 feet of snow in the bvd when spring does come it takes a long time for it to all melt, plus it all runs to the low side curb then compounds any drainage issues when combined with the snow that is melting on the low side curb.  
 
as well, the more water you have running across the road it seeps into cracks and shortens the life of the ashpalt.

I think the point is there is no snow to plow or scrape off the boulevards. Have any of you people stating the obvious looked outside recently? If you look hard enough you might even see some grass.  
 
Utter waste of money to be scraping inches of snow off a boulevard with heavy equipment.

TimHorton .... You win the best comment of the day!  
 
Finally someone has the right idea

I always thought that this was done near the end of the season. I don't think spring is around the corner yet!  
 
I have seen lots of front end loaders and graders out over the past two weeks.

The reason the snow is removed is to handle the spring run off and get it off the street and out of the storm sewer system. This is also for safety keeps huge amounts of water off the street during thaw and freeze.

Black Star said "The reason the snow is removed is to handle the spring run off and get it off the street and out of the storm sewer system. This is also for safety keeps huge amounts of water off the street during thaw and freeze. "

There is no snow yet. Why are they doing it now and not waiting until there is a significant amount ?

Didn't they just cut the snow removal budget because lack of snow? I hope the running around they are doing is necessary and not make work projects. There is grass showing everywhere.