I would like to suggest an idea for improvement: what if we tried to modify the method for clearing snow and especially for loading?
I sometimes observe loading operations. The loading method must certainly enrage truckers. Sometimes there are more than five trucks with their dumpsters waiting in line because there is no snow left on the street.
And sometimes the snowplow has to wait because there are no more trucks to load because the snow is too heavy. Either situation is undesirable and must be foreseeable.
I live in a neighborhood where snow is collected in trucks. When we had the “white line” down the center of the street, snow removal was usually done in less than 24 hours.
There was a report of a problem for the fire department that recommended changing this practice to push snow to both sides of the street.
Now if a snowstorm starts on Thursday night, I may have to plow my driveway every morning until the following Tuesday, because we scrape the street to keep the center clear and make sure to fill the street in front of the private entrances every night!
That’s my personal problem, I just have to pay a private snowplow to move the snow every morning during this whole period…
But what’s more, the climate is warming. We might have less snow. Yes, but we have more rain which accumulates without being able to drain into the street catch basins. For what? Because the streets are made for cars, we want cars to be able to drive easily and too bad for pedestrians and the refreezing which will block all the catch basins.
One winter, I measured in front of my house that the ice was more than two inches on the sidewalk. Imagine on the street!
In Quebec, we have winters with snow and rain now, but with streets that are made for the tropics where the water is good for the vegetation in the ditches.
So, what if we rethink how to clear snow? The “white line” allowed for faster collection and we avoided going back 8 to 12 times to cover each street. Or we could scrape on either side during the main storm.
Then the first collection is done for one side and then we scrape to bring all the snow to the center of the street. This would reduce the number of scraping and picking passes.
Jean-Charles Pouliot, Quebec
