When will the City of Toronto plow my street?
As Toronto navigates significant snowfall, highway closures and hazardous travel conditions, many are wondering when they can expect to see their local roads plowed.
Depending on the number of centimetres of snow accumulated, the city has different projections for the length of time plowing will take.
The city defines a snowfall more than 25 cm as a “Storm Type 4” — an event that only occurs approximately once every ten years.
During this type of storm, waits for plows are at their longest.
On Monday afternoon, Brad Ross, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Toronto, said that ”multiple rounds of plowing across the city has occurred and will continue into tonight and tomorrow.”
Ross said that it can take the city 12 hours to plow all 5,600 km of sidewalks.
EXPRESSWAYS
The roads prioritized first by the City in major snow events are the expressways — the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway — however, Toronto police announced Monday morning that both highways were temporarily closed due to hazardous travel conditions.
Just after noon on Monday, the city announced the Gardiner expressway was completely reopened. By 3 p.m., the Don Valley Parkway had also reopened.
Once reopened, the city says it could be two to three hours until the expressways are plowed.
ARTERIAL/COLLECTOR/TRANSIT ROUTES
For major arterial and collector roads, such as Lake Shore Blvd., Finch Ave. and Queen St., routes with streetcars or buses and roads with hills and bike lanes, the city says it can take 12 to 16 hours to complete plowing when there's more than 25 cm of accumulation.
LOCAL ROADS/CUL-DE-SACS
For all other neighbourhood roads, the city says residents can expect to wait for 24 to more than 36 hours for roads to be plowed. This estimate is longer for cul-de-sacs and dead-end roads.
Residents can expect laneways to be salted at least 24 hours from the end of the snow event, but the city does not provide plowing estimates for laneways.
SNOW REMOVAL
When city streets start accumulating more than 20 cm of snow, the city begins snow removal protocols.
At 20cm, snow removal begins for expressways, arterials routes and bus routes. At 30 cm, snow removal begins for local roads, including cul-de-sacs and dead ends.
Residents can expect the expressways to have snow removed with three days, while all other streets and routes may have to wait up to two weeks, according to the city.
In Toronto, snowfall accumulations of 30 to 60 centimetres of snow are expected by Monday evening.
The City of Toronto says it has 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows, 200 salt trucks and 1,500 personnel ready to tackle winter conditions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.