Toronto officials are making a last-minute plea for drivers to move their vehicles in order for crews to remove the piles of snow blocking traffic and infrastructure.
Up to 30 centimetres of snow fell on the city in under 16 hours over the weekend during a winter storm that caused power outages as well as thunder and lightening.
As a result, the City of Toronto declared a “major snowstorm condition” in an effort to remove snow from the roads.
As of Monday, vehicles are prohibited from parking on designated snow routes to allow crews to remove snow piles that may be restricting traffic flow as well as interfering with parking and pedestrian infrastructure.
The snow will be collected and transported to one of four dumping areas, officials said.
“Residents who have vehicles parked on designated snow routes are asked to move their vehicles as soon as possible,” Barbara Gray, General Manager of Transportation Services with the City of Toronto, told reporters on Monday morning. “Service requests for snow-related issues can be made on the 311 Toronto mobile app on the city's website.”
“We will do our absolute best to respond to and resolve all snow-related 311 service requests as quickly as possible.”
Vincent Sferrazza, director of operations and maintenance of transportation for the City of Toronto, said he expected the snow removal process to begin Monday evening.
“This evening, we'll be removing snow on Bloor Street and Danforth,” he said. “We're also going to be removing snow on bridge decks, that's where you have sidewalks, which may have been covered with snow, and there's no boulevard or road allowance where we can store the snow.”
Under a major snowstorm condition, vehicles parked on one of the 150 areas across Toronto designated as “snow routes” could be towed and the drivers could be subject to a fine up to $200.
The city has put up signs on all snow routes, but a full list of the streets impacted can be found on their website. It includes most downtown roads as well as streetcar routes.
The last time the city performed snow removal after a storm was in January 2022, after a blizzard dropped up to 50 centimetres of snow. The cost of the snow removal was about $17 million, according to a post-operational report.
Snow removal, which involves the collection of snow and the transportation of it to a dump site, is different than the city’s regular process of clearing or plowing the roads.
The weather in Toronto has been milder since Friday, resulting in slushy sidewalks and icy conditions.
Environment Canada is forecasting temperatures of 2 C on Monday, feeling like -5 C with the wind chill. On Tuesday morning it is expected to feel like -12 C with the wind chill.
