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Port Colborne, we’re currently under another Winter Storm Warning with 20 to 30 cm of snow expected by Thursday night.
Once snowplow operations begin, we have nowhere to push the snow except to the curb or side of the road allowance. However, before our snowplows even hit the streets, here are some tips to minimize how much you need to shovel:
- Shovel the snow to the right side of your driveway (when facing the road). This will minimize the amount of snow that accumulates at the end of your driveway after the snowplow comes. How? By doing this you are shovelling snow in the same direction as traffic, downstream of the plow and away from the bottom of your driveway.
- Avoid parking vehicles on the road allowance.
- What is a road allowance? A road allowance is a boulevard, shoulder, curb, and/or roadway. If a vehicle is parked on the road allowance our snowplows will form a drift around the vehicle when they make a pass. Once the vehicle moves our snowplow operators must then make another pass down your street, causing more snow to be pushed at the end of your driveway. By limiting vehicles parked on the road allowance you are minimizing the amount of times snow will be pushed to the bottom of your driveway, that you will then have to shovel. With your help, winter maintenance crews can plow the road snow faster, reduce your car being stuck in a snow drift, and limit the amount of snow to shovel.
- Be a good neighbour. Have space in your driveway for your neighbour to park their vehicle? Offer them a place to park until the snowplows have completed a pass down your road.
- A reminder that vehicles interfering with snowplow operations will receive a $75 ticket and a purple tow notice. Towing will occur between one to 24 hours of the notice, depending on the severity of the snow and interference with snow removal.
- Snow on garbage day?
- Garbage and recycling placement also impacts the way we plow. If your pickup day falls on the same day as a snow event, please keep your garbage and recycling away from the roadside and off the snowbanks to ensure city staff can fully clear the roadways. To learn about any changes to waste removal due to a snow event, visit the Niagara Region’s webpage.
To stay up-to-date on snowplow operations, follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), or subscribe to our news channel. For more information about Winter Control operations, visit our webpage.
Need to speak with our By-Law or Public Works departments? Call 905-835-2900, email customerservice@portcolborne.ca, or, if a non-emergency, complete our online service request form.
Have an after-hours Public Works emergency? Call 905-835-2900 and press ‘9’ to reach dispatch.
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