December 6, 2009
(Red Deer, Alberta) – Red Deer is dealing with the first major snowstorm of the season and City road crews are hard at work plowing and sanding our streets.
“Following our snow and ice control policy, our priorities have been on clearing hills, bridges, high collision areas, hospital access routes and arterials,” said Jim Chase, Roads Superintendent, Public Works. “Once those routes were cleared we began work in the downtown area early this morning. We expect to have that area complete sometime on Monday.”
The next priority areas are bus routes which will take about two to three weeks to clear. The City expects to begin clearing these routes following the completion of the downtown. Contractors have been brought in to help with plowing and sanding.
An ongoing assessment of residential areas has resulted in areas impassable due to drifting snow being cleared when plows are available. “Unfortunately we are not able to clear all residential areas,” said Chase. “However as we clear the other areas of the city we will continue to clear residential roads that are virtually impossible to drive on.”
“No parking” signs will be put in place for all plowing and removal procedures 12 hours prior to the removal. Vehicles that remain parked on streets with “no parking” signs will be ticketed and towed. During the snow removal process citizens are reminded to keep a safe distance from snow removal equipment.
Winter driving requires different driving techniques. There are some things you can do to keep yourself safer on tough winter roads.
• Give yourself extra time to reach your destination.
• Reduce speed and turn on your headlights.
• Leave extra distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you to allow more time to stop.
• Make sure your windshield, back window, outside mirrors and all lights are free of dirt, snow, frost, etc.
• When road conditions are difficult, consider leaving your vehicle at home and use Red Deer Transit.
• Listen to local media for updated road conditions and information on snow and ice control operations.
Always remember to stay at least 20 meters behind snow removal equipment and sanding/plowing trucks and only pass when it is safe to do so.
For more information on winter driving and our snow and ice control program, visit www.reddeer.ca/publicworks.
-end-
For more information, please contact:
Jim Chase
Roads Superintendent, Public Works
The City of Red Deer
403-342-8238
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