City of Kamloops to update snow and ice control policy, launch cul-de-sac pilot

Photo: Castanet

A city worker spreads salt on a downtown Kamloops sidewalk during a snowfall event in 2022.

The City of Kamloops plans to launch a pilot project this winter that will use shared parks and street division equipment to improve snow clearing for some higher-elevation cul de sacs.

Jeff Putnam, the city’s parks and streets manager, told council during Tuesday’s meeting that work to plan this pilot comes after the city’s civic operations department underwent a restructure.

A staff report prepared for council said the new parks and streets team will work year-round to support both winter and summer operations.

“Part of the amalgamation and restructuring of parks and streets is to take advantage of shared resources, and that's something we're looking at doing a pilot project with some upper level cul-de-sacs this winter,” Putnam said.

He said he doesn’t have all the details finalized yet, but staff are working on the plan.

Joe Luison, the city’s civic operations assistant director, said the intent of the pilot isn’t to increase service levels, but to do a better job of meeting existing service levels.

“Right now, we recognize that large trucks in small cul-de-sacs don't do the most effective job,” Luison said, noting the larger equipment doesn’t end up dispersing snow evenly.

The staff report said the new amalgamated division is also working through an updated snow and ice control policy that will be presented to council in 2025.

“Staff’s goal is to enhance existing service levels by integrating the expertise of personnel and equipment,” the report said.

Putnam told council that snow clearing is prioritized based on safety, ease of travel, accessibility for the public, emergency response vehicle needs and geographic considerations like hillsides.

Snow clearing service levels set

The city’s benchmark is to clear arterial roads like Fortune Drive, Westsyde Road and Columbia Street within four hours of a snow event — defined in city bylaws as a four-inch snow accumulation.

Collector roads and transit routes are cleared within 16 hours of a snow event, and residential streets within 36 hours. During an ongoing snowfall, the city focuses on clearing arterial roads.

“That's the highest volume of traffic, that's the best uses of resources,” Putnam said.

About 260 transit stops are maintained by the city within 24 hours of a snow event, while sidewalks and multi-use pathways are cleared by crews throughout a snowfall.

Putnam said crews hand-clear 171 curb letdowns on major thoroughfares like Notre Dame Drive, Columbia Street, Victoria Street, Tranquille Road and Fortune Drive “as soon as the snow starts flying.”

The city’s annual snow and ice control budget is $1.9 million.

Coun. Nancy Bepple noted the city’s progress from not clearing bus stop snow, to adding that service level into the budget and adding curb cuts being shovelled out.

She said people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices can still have a hard time getting around town.

“I would just encourage you to make connections with people who use mobility devices and just get some other ideas, because I can't imagine us not shovelling out bus stops, but that came because people asked for it, because they needed it,” she said.

“I think that we still have a ways to go to make the city enjoyable for everybody in the winter.”

The staff report noted each winter, the city crews maintain 1,500 kilometres of roads, 100 kilometres of sidewalks, 255 transit stops and 530 cul-de-sacs.