Roads and Sidewalks

During the winter season, Roads Dept. staff monitors weather conditions through road patrols and local forecasts to strategically dispatch crews to clear roads and ensure safety for the municipality.

The Roads Dept. provides winter maintenance to Township roads through snow clearing and ice control. Operations may be conducted seven days per week, depending on the timing of snow and ice events. Drivers’ maximum number of hours worked per day are regulated by the Province of Ontario. The Roads Depart. will work to be as effective, efficient, and professional as possible under these conditions

There will always be snow that is deposited into driveway openings by the plow after snowfall as this cannot be avoided.  Homeowners are responsible for clearing their driveway of snow.  If you are unable to clear this snow, we suggest you contact family, neighbours or contractors that can help with snow removal.

Placing snow or ice on a roadway is a violation under the Highway Traffic Act.  It is also a safety hazard for pedestrians and vehicles, causing snowy and slippery conditions and hampers our operations and delays clean-up by requiring equipment to return to previously cleared areas.  Please place all snow onto grassy areas or where there is no walkway or road

The Township of South Glengarry will repair or replace properly installed mailboxes that are damaged by snow plows. Mailboxes that are damaged by heavy snow from the wing plow are NOT replaced by the Township.

For more information on the Township mailbox replacement policy, please click here

It is recommended that everyone follows the regulated guidelines for proper mailbox installation.

For more information on mail box guidelines visit the Canada Post Website:

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/assets/pdf/personal/rmb_guidelines_e.pdf

If a snow plow has damaged your lawn, please send an email to infrastructure@southglengarry.com 
We collect all reports and will pass them over to our Roads Manager for review and follow up.

Always keep these safety-tips in mind during the winter season:

• STAY BACK

Snow plows are large vehicles with many blind spots. Always be aware of your surroundings and keep a safe distance to ensure the roads crew can do their job and keep everyone safe. Be aware when approaching intersections to allow the plow to either navigate the corner, clean the intersection and/or turn around and plow the opposite lane.

• BE PATIENT

We understand heavy snowfall and ice-rain can put a delay on travel during the winter months, be it for work, leisure or emergency. Our roads crew works hard to try and clear all snow from the roadways within the time frames established by the provincial maintenance standards. We make every effort to respond to winter weather events given the time and resources available to us. We appreciate your patience and understanding as these winter events can be challenging for our operators who are dealing with:

- Long hours of work

- Weather

- Traffic

- Pedestrians

- Reduced visibility

• KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE

Snow Days can be a fun time for playing outside and making snow forts, but children should be reminded that playing near the road can be unsafe no matter what the season. Children should avoid building snow forts on the roadside as it can be difficult for a plow operator to see if they are hiding or playing behind or under the snow.

• NEVER PASS

A snow plow should only operate between 30-45 kms/hour and the safest place to be is a minimum of 100 metres behind the plow. Be patient.

Helping whenever possible is always appreciated! Here are some things you can do to give our crews and your neighbours a hand during a winter event:

• Clear ice and/or snow from walkways and public areas in front of your house if possible.
• Clear snow and ice from fire hydrants, if possible.
• Keep your mailbox clear of snow and ice.
• Make sure your garbage and recycling bins can be seen and that they are not placed on the snowbank or in the roadway.

Please Note: The practice of depositing snow or ice on a roadway is hazardous and is an infraction noted in Section 181, “no person shall deposit snow or ice on a roadway without permission in writing from the Ministry or the road authority responsible for the maintenance of the road”, R.S.O. 1990, c.H.8, s.181 of the Highway Traffic Act  Pushing snow or ice onto the road can be incredibly dangerous for drivers and plows alike. Thank you for your cooperation in these matters.

Under ideal circumstances, we can predict accurately using our GPS System, when we will have township roads in various sections of the Township plowed. As weather conditions change, we often must alter our snow-fighting strategy during the snow removal operations in order to control drifting snow, ice, or other special weather events. Because of this, we are unable to give you an estimate of when your road will be cleared due to the ever-changing landscape of Canadian weather conditions.

Different types of storms require the use of different snow-fighting techniques. The decision whether to salt or plow depends upon the expected weather conditions. For example, if the temperature is below -10 degrees and not expected to rise, salt will not be effective, but if the sun is shining and the temperature is -10 degrees or more and expected to remain steady or to rise, then salt would be more effective. The decision whether to plow or salt is made with great consideration and based on the latest weather information available, using the Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) for our region. These decisions are made by an experienced crew and our roads manager.

There are two reasons you might see plows on the roads on snowless days:

1. Every driver undergoes pre-season training, when skills must be sharpened, and routes need to be familiarized to ensure accurate and safe snow removal.
2. Trucks may be scanning the Township for secondary cleaning after cleaning from a recent event (cleaning the streets where vehicles were parked during the plowing of the roads or making room for the next event).

NOTICE REGARDING WINTER MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

Please be advised that the parking of a vehicle on the roadway interfering with winter maintenance activities is an infraction of Section 170. (1) of the Highway Traffic Act “no person shall park, stand, or stop a vehicle on a roadway”, and (12) “despite the other provisions of this section, no person shall park or stand a vehicle on a highway in such a manner as to interfere with the movement of traffic or the clearing of snow from the highway”, R.S.O. 1990, c.H.8., s.170 (12) and prevents the Township Road Department from performing the plowing and de-icing operations in an efficient and safe manner.