Snow on Calgary Roads: What The City's doing & what you can do

A snowfall warning has been issued for the City of Calgary. Environment Canada expects amounts totaling between 10-20 centimetres on Tuesday.

All available City Roads crews and equipment are currently working on Priority 1 routes throughout the city. This includes major commuter roadways such Macleod and Glenmore Trail. Due to the cool temperatures crews will be using pickle, a salt/gravel mixture that provides traction on icy winter roads. This work will continue throughout the afternoon rush and into the evening as outlined in The City’s Seven Day Snow Event Plan.

With the exception of trouble spots, including hills, bridge decks and ramps, crews are not expected to move onto the Priority 2 roads until tomorrow and/or 24 hours after the snow has stopped falling. Priority 2 routes are classified as roads which carry 5,000 to 19,999 vehicles per day, like Kensington Road and Acadia Drive, and are typically bus routes.

As snow continues to fall, motorists are advised to drive with caution, particularly on bridge decks and ramps, as these areas tend to become icy in colder temperatures. Calgarians should drive to winter conditions and consider giving themselves extra time to get to get home from work.

At this time The City does not anticipate the need to call a Snow Route parking ban.

Please follow the Transportation Department on Twitter @yyctransport, or visit calgary.ca/roadconditions for traffic updates.

How we respond to snowfall

Roads maintains public thoroughfares to the Snow and Ice Control policy standards during winter months by:

• Laying down gravel, salt and/or pickle and plowing roadways
• Snow removal and storage
• Sidewalk snow removal in the downtown core
• Snow fencing where required
• Free sand locations

To help remove ice on residential sidewalks, homeowners can pick up free sand and salt-coated gravel at most Fire stations and Roads Maintenance District offices. See sanding box locations near you.

Winter driving tips
Calgarians are reminded to drive to winter conditions, especially in residential communities. Some tips for winter driving include:

• Winterize your vehicle, consider installing snow tires.
• Give yourself extra time to reach your destinations.
• Reduce your speed and turn on your headlights.
• Leave extra distance between you and the car ahead of you.
• Do not pass working sanders or equipment.