Photo: City of Saskatoon
Progress is being made in Saskatoon’s snowfall recovery. That from the General Manager of Transportation and Construction, Terry Schmidt, who says all priority one streets have had snow drifts removed and many have been graded from curb to curb. Nearly all priority two streets and about 85 per cent of priority three streets are now passable, but he adds it will take several more days to complete sanding, de-icing and snow removal from curb to curb.
The largest effort of residential snow clearing in recent Saskatoon history is also currently underway. Schmidt says with a lot of work complete on priority streets, they have begun clearing residential areas as of Wednesday morning. He says crews will return to priority roads when needed but because of the challenges the heavy snow has caused citizens, they are turning to residential snow clearing immediately. Schmidt assures residents that they are throwing everything they can at the effort, including city crews and contractors.
Schmidt says this will take some time as the city is not in usual circumstances, but the city will work on schedules, updates and communication to residents in the coming days. To reduce the wait times, Schmidt explains snow will be stored in various public spaces like parks or city lots. He adds that crews will also work through the night to speed up the process.
