Fall may have just begun, but Huntsville’s public works department has been focusing on the winter to come and how to streamline the way it deals with snow in a changing climate.
Steve Hernen, the Town’s Director of Operations and Protective Services, was before Huntsville’s General Committee on September 27 to explain how staff plan to improve on plowing and snow removal in the coming season.
“We had two choices: we could do the same as we did last year and pray for better results or we can rethink the way we handle climate change and better prepare for the winter season,” he said, noting that last winter saw about two-and-a-half times the usual amount of snowfall.
“We had snow banks you couldn’t see over, intersections and parking lots were plugged with snow and most of our roads in town had become single lane roads – you couldn’t pass two vehicles down because of the banks,” said Hernen. “We just didn’t have time to deal with snow removal and other issues. We never had a chance to catch up. We were too busy just trying to keep the main roads open.” He acknowledged that the department received many complaints as a result.
The extreme winter took a toll on staff and the budget, said Hernen, with staff hours “through the roof”, an increase in WSIB claims, a large number of equipment breakdowns, and an unbudgeted $136,000 in snow removal costs. “We were on the verge of employee burnout, and staff morale was at an all-time low by the end of the season… they didn’t even know what day it was any more.”
The report Hernen presented to committee noted that the volume of snow caused “over runs in budgeted staffing time, double the normal use of sand/salt, additional equipment costs for fuel and breakdowns and an increased need for snow removal from all sidewalks and road ways.” From November 1, 2016 to April 15, 2017, crews either plowed and sanded or sanded the roads a total of 84 times, 72 of which fell between December and February.
To improve coverage this winter, and do it without increasing its budget, the department will better utilize its combination plow and sanding equipment and eliminate some contracted sanding equipment, better utilize staff across the department including converting three parks staff to full-time employment so that they can be used for sidewalk clearing, and modify some parks equipment for use in snow removal.
“We are looking at having 24/7 coverage,” explained Hernen. “We don’t have that now, we like to pretend we do. The reality is we only have 24-hour coverage five days per week and on weekends we use on-call staff… We are now looking at using the total staff complement to accomplish what we need to.”
The department has also examined its snow plowing and snow removal priorities. Plowing roads will be first priority for crews, then sidewalks, and then town centre and community centre parking lots, followed by snow removal from snow banks, intersections and parking lots, and finally clearing the skating rinks at Cann Lake or Avery Beach. “If we can’t keep the roads and sidewalks opened up properly, we might not get around to dealing with the ice ponds,” said Hernen. It’s all part of the department’s Winter Control Quality Procedures. (You can read those the end of the report here.)
If there happens to be a late start to the winter, Hernen said that parks staff will remain in their division until needed and roads crews will work on other tasks like brushing and ditching until the snow falls.
To better communicate to the public, the department is looking at integrating with mapping systems to be able to show “more of what’s happening and where it’s happening,” said Hernen, along with enhanced notification to local media to help get the word out.
The proposed changes for this year are budget-neutral, said Hernen. Savings realized by better use of equipment and staff will help to reduce overtime costs and hopefully eliminate unbudgeted snow removal costs, and will offset the added cost of converting three parks staff to full-time and modifying equipment.
The department has also prepared for the snow much earlier than usual. “The equipment has been overhauled this year properly. The mechanics have done an amazing job through the summer, and we’ve got the plow fleet ready to go right now,” said Hernen.
And now they wait to see what Mother Nature has in store.
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In Steve we Trust !
We just moved from the Big Bad City and were really impressed by the prompt and frequent snow-clearing here in Huntsville. Keep up the good work!
Folks:
Last winter was a “bear”, no doubt. But…town staff did an admirable job. I had to drive through it all winter, and have nothing but admiration for a job well done in daunting circumstances.
Given the truly ugly winter conditions last year, they are clearly gearing up to do an even better job.
Keep up the good work!
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/record-heat-causes-spike-in-great-lakes-water-temperature/86724/ the weather network says the great lakes is too warm and that its possible we will have a heavy winter snow wise. Lol even the little old ladies have told me that they think it will be a deep snow winter.
I was pleased to see Mr. Hernen mention climate change in his remarks, showing an understanding that last winter, with its excessive snowfall, was not an anomaly … that this is the new normal with global warming, and something we have to be prepared to deal with. Global warming means warmer air, and warmer air holds more moisture. In the summer that means more rain, and we’ve certainly seen that this year. In the winter that means more snow. We’re going to have to get used to it, and I’m glad that our public works department is preparing for it.