City crews are doing their best to clean up the first major snowfall of the winter season in Prince George.
Environment Canada is predicting the northern capital will receive up to 15 centimetres once this weather event is done, although the city is anticipating a slightly higher number.
Snow removal operations are in full effect and Manager of Roads and Fleet Jordan Wiseman told MyPGNow.com that even with this passing storm, the city is dealing with way less snow compared to a year ago.
“Right now we are going to finish around 15 to 17 centimetres. I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me but last year around Christmas we were dealing with upwards of 24 to 30 centimetres of snow and then another good dump on top of it.”
“It’s not nearly as significant as it was last year but whenever we do reach our thresholds, we do take it serious.”
He added they will have a full slate of contractors at their disposal tonight (Tuesday) as well as extended shifts up to the weekend.
“We were anticipating this snowfall. We were preparing for anything between 10 to 20 centimetres. That pretty much triggers a full-priority three go by the time the snow stops, which is about 12 centimetres for a full-go.”
A snow event is declared when 7.5 cm of snowfall accumulates in a 24 hour period, while a heavy snowfall declaration is declared when 20 centimeters of snow accumulates in a 24 hour period.
During a heavy snowfall declaration, snow removal completion times will be extended by 24 hours for each additional eight centimetres of accumulated snow (on top of the initial 20 centimetres).
The City’s 735km of roads and 200km of sidewalks are categorized into three snow-clearing priority routes identified by colour on the City’s snow clearing priority routes map.
1.      Priority One (red) routes include the City’s biggest, busiest streets and boulevards, their adjacent sidewalks, and the downtown central business district and hospital district. Crews aim to clear these within 48 hours after the snow event ends.
2.      Priority Two (green) routes include Prince George’s collector roads and sidewalks as well as commercial and industrial zoning roads, laneways, and curb-adjacent sidewalks. Crews aim to clear these within 48 hours after the snow event ends.
3.      Priority Three (gray) routes include the City’s residential streets, sidewalks, and park paths. If at least 12cm of snow falls in 24 hours, the City aims to clear these routes within 72 hours after Priority One (Red) and Priority Two (Green) have been completed.
During this time, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the City’s snow clearing procedures, winter parking restrictions, and to consider ways they can pitch in when the winter weather affects our roads and sidewalks.
Additionally, the following winter parking restrictions are also place:
- On-street parking is prohibited from midnight to 7:00 am downtown.
- On-street parking is prohibited from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am on Priority One roads and hills, the Hospital District, and a number of other designated roads.
- On-street parking is prohibited from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm in residential areas. Parking on the side of the street with odd house numbers is permitted from 6:00 pm to 8:00 am unless otherwise posted.
- Illegally parked vehicles are subject to a $50 ticket per offence and/or may be towed.