Kitchener's snow removal services change because of warmer winters
'We don't know if we're going to be dealing snow, rain, wet snow or freezing rain,' maintenance manager says
The City of Kitchener had to make a few tweaks to how it delivers its snow removal services, as warmer winters made the weather more unpredictable for staff.
This winter season has seen a flux in temperatures, from –15 C with windchill to highs around the 6 C mark, which brought in a mix of rain, flurries and freezing rain to the region.
"We're always on that line it seems, here between snow and rain," Scott Berry, manager of maintenance operations with the City of Kitchener, told CBC News.
"When we're gearing up for it, we don't know if we're going to be dealing with snow, rain, wet snow or freezing rain because you're always on that line," he said.
A different approach
Though staff are just starting to look at how climate change will impact the city's snow removal budget, Berry said there has been change to how the city approaches snow removal.
"It's been a mental change so far in how we adapt and how we consider we're going to respond to the weather," he said.
Staff now rely on a specific micro-weather forecast for the area, which they receive three times a day, and have access to a climatologist 24/7.
Berry said in previous years the city didn't plow residential streets because it was not dangerous to drive on the roads, unless snow mixes with rain and it became frozen slush or ice.
Since 2013, snow removal staff try to leave one metre of bare pavement on residential streets, "an example of a change...totally related to climate change," he said.
The city may also look at making changes to its fleet of salters, possibly adding more that are better suited for freezing rain events.
Berry adds the city is also experimenting with a molasses and magnesium chloride mixture to de-ice city roads that can be used in temperatures colder than –18 C.