City officials say Toronto ‘geared up’ and ready for another winter season

The City of Toronto says it is ready for another winter snow-clearing season and that staff are so far doing a good job of implementing measures meant to make sure that taxpayers get value for money when it comes to the $100 million-plus snow-clearing budget.

Speaking with reporters Monday, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie noted that chilly weather is “just around the corner,” but said that the city is ready for it.

“As you know winter can have a dramatic effect on Toronto. It impacts how we get around, our homes and our businesses, as well as our crucial, critical infrastructure,” McKelvie said. “While it can be a formidable challenge, the City of Toronto has a comprehensive and highly coordinated snow and ice response plan that prioritizes the safety and movement of residents and visitors above all else.”

Back in July, Toronto’s auditor said the city had not made as much progress as it claimed when it comes to implementing dozens of recommendations to improve oversight and quality assurance with contractors.

Speaking with reporters Monday, General Manager of Transportation Services Barbara Gray said that staff are currently doing “a great job” of implementing measures meant to ensure consistency and accuracy across winter maintenance operations.

“We've developed lots of performance oversight mechanisms to be able to track.  Some of them are technology-based; others are just merely our staff providing a consistent level of oversight,” Gray said. “We do routine and regular checks in on how we are doing vis-a-vis our budget and continue to try to work smarter.

“This program is massive and so we are continuing to strive for consistency and accuracy and the staff is doing a great job at trying to keep that all sorted out.”

The auditor said in July that the city had not yet fully utilized available GPS technology to make sure that contractors were performing as expected. The city said at the time that while there have been some delays due to pandemic related equipment shortages, they expected all their goals to be implemented for the 2023-2024 winter season.

“We have technology tools that we've never really had before where we're able to check pretty quickly to make sure that those GPS units are functioning and we also check on a regular basis as the season proceeds to make sure that they're in good working order,” Gray said.

The GPS units also power the PlowTO map, the city’s online tracker where people can see if roads have been plowed yet.

“Yes for this upcoming season, we will be diligent in our oversight for the contractors’ performance,” Director of Transportation Operations and Maintenance Vincent Sferrazza added.

Several reports recommended a swath of changes after a 2020 report from the city’s auditor found that some $31 million had been wasted on poorly managed snow-clearing contracts over the previous five seasons.

The city’s snow-clearing program includes 14,700 kilometres of car lanes and on-street bike lanes; 7,900 kilometres of sidewalks; and 956 kilometres of separated bike lanes and multi-use trails.

McKelvie said the city has already begun preparations for the winter weather by sweeping and resurfacing roads throughout the city and by repairing more than 167,000 potholes this year.

“With the effects of climate change we know that the extreme winter weather is becoming more common,” McKelvie said. “This is challenging for everyone. But we have learned a great deal from past storms and we are prepared for whatever this winter will bring.”

She said safety and maintaining critical infrastructure remain the city’s number one priority in winter maintenance.

The city also reminded residents that they have a part to play in keeping the street safe during winter.

“Property owners are responsible for clearing public sidewalks adjacent to their property within 12 hours of the end of snowfall when less than two centimetres of snow accumulates,” the city said in a release. “Clearing private property, such as driveways, parking spaces, steps and ramps, within 24 hours of the end of snowfall is also important and provides safe access to people and vehicles.”

Other common-sense tips including leaving extra time to get around in bad weather, preparing your vehicle for winter, leaving space for snow-clearing equipment to do its work and taking steps to prevent pipes from freezing in cold weather.