Winter Control Operations

When snow starts to fall, salt/sand spreader trucks are sent out to the arterial roads first then the collector roads. It is the City's main priority to ensure that these routes are clear for emergency vehicles. If 5 cm of snow has accumulated on the road surface, plows are sent out to these roads.

Streets designated as "priority" are cleared first and then crews take care of the remainder of the streets. The City is divided into nine areas or "beats." Each beat is made up of a street list starting with the priority roads. Priority roads carry the higher volumes of traffic and are most easily identified as arterial (main) roads or collector (secondary) roads. These are the roads people use to get in and out of the city, to business areas, and to medical facilities. The "other" roads are the second priority roads, primarily residential or secondary routes. These are systematically plowed after the "priority" routes are completed. By having different priorities, it allows us to focus our operations to ensure that there is basic access through the City for emergency vehicles and that large traffic volumes can travel safely.

Most beats are assigned one snow clearing unit but in the case of multi-lane roads more can be provided. Crews have a detailed list of streets in their beat to ensure that all are cleared.

Similarly, sidewalks are divided into areas or "beats" with two categories for City clearing operations. The Business Improvement Area (BIA), heavily travelled routes, and routes leading directly to schools, are the first priority. All other sidewalks are cleared after these primary sidewalks are completed.

The City of Orillia roads and streets are cleared on a priority basis according to the classification/rating of each road within the City. This is set out in the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways, Ontario Regulation 239/02 made under the Municipal Act, 2002. For winter operations, these regulations specify our patrol frequency and clearance of snow and ice for each class of highway.

City roads are categorized into five main classes. Classes 1, 2, and 3 are priority roads, which include arterial and some secondary collector roads; these roads take first priority. Classes 4 and 5, which include local residential streets and cul-de-sacs, have lower priority.

Residents living on corner lots or first on the right of an intersection usually get more snow deposited in front of their houses and in their driveways. The reason for this is that when a snowplow turns to the right it sweeps a much larger area of the road than when it is travelling in a straight line. The snow also does not discharge from the plow when it is turning hard to the right because the plows are angled from left to right on the truck. Turning right effectively makes the plow push all the snow ahead instead of moving it from the centre of the road to the side. The first property and driveway encountered after the plow straightens out usually gets more snow than others in the immediate area.

If there is enough room, the operator can sometimes get rid of some of the snow before the driveway is reached. A fixed snowplow cannot carry snow around to put it where desired. The plow moves snow from the centre of the road to the side of the road - the operator cannot change this.

During the day, unless the street is posted as "No Parking", it is legal to park on the road.

However, parking is prohibited from November 15 to April 15 on any street between 12:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. If the plow happens to come across a parked vehicle that is causing problems during those times we can request the Police or City By-law Enforcement to have it removed. We can also request that the Police or City By-law Enforcement remove a vehicle or vehicles that are parked in such a way as to prevent winter maintenance equipment from passing. This can be done at any time.

Only staff from the City's Environment and Infrastructure Services Department can make requests to the Police or By-law Enforcement to have a vehicle, or vehicles, tagged and/or towed. It is up to the Police or By-law Enforcement Officer to decide whether a vehicle, or vehicles, are removed or just ticketed. To report a vehicle during business hours, please call 705-326-4585, and for afterhours please contact the afterhours line at 705-326-4671.

Most problem areas on streets are the result of parked cars blocking the snowplows, or residents putting snow from their driveways back onto the public roadway. Residents are reminded, if at all possible, to not park vehicles on the street either during or following a snowstorm. Also, residents and private snowplowing contractors are reminded to not place snow from driveways and sidewalks on the street or across the street. Depositing snow on the public roadway is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act.

• The plow operator may have difficulty finding the sidewalk or the edge of the road under a blanket of snow.
• The ground is not frozen.

Once a path is cleared, subsequent trips by the plow are made easier. If the sod was damaged during the first part of the season, then the damage may not be discovered until the snow melts. We have found that generally homeowners will repair the damage in front of their property before the City crews arrive. This is a tremendous help because City staff typically don't repair sod damage until after spring sweeping operations are completed in late May - severe damage being the exception. Special sod repair concerns should be directed to the Environment and Infrastructure Services  Department at 705-326-4585.

Due to the risk of slipping and falling not only for us but for our furry friends, ice melts are a necessity in many parts of the country. There are, however, a few things you can do to minimize potential problems for your pets:

1. Don’t let dogs eat any of the salt or any of the snow (especially the slushy snow) outside that may have been treated with an ice melt.
2. Wipe your pet’s paws as soon as they get inside with a damp cloth or baby wipes. Minimize paw licking until their paws are completely clean. This will also help minimize risk for skin irritation that may be seen from walking through ice melts
3. If you have a sensitive dog whose paw pads are becoming irritated, cracked or are bleeding from the ice melts, paw wax or doggie booties provide an excellent barrier to minimize risk to sensitive feet.
4. Keep all ice melt packaging out of paws’ reach. 

The recommended minimum mailbox location measurements are as follows:

• 1.75 metres (5 feet 9 inches) from edge of pavement to front of mailbox
• 1.05 metres (3 feet 3 inches) from ground to bottom of mailbox.

The ideal mailbox installation is a mailbox suspended by chains (to the above measurements or greater) from a well braced, cantilever arm and post assembly.

To report a damaged mailbox, please contact the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department at 705-326-4585. An inspection, assessment and recommendation will be made by staff. Mailboxes replaced by the City will be a basic mailbox, not necessarily the same as the original mailbox. Damaged posts will be replaced by temporary posts with permanent repairs undertaken in the spring once the frost is out of the ground.