School Zone Snow Removal
When it snows, we grade school zones at elementary and high schools, avoiding peak drop-off and pick-up times for everyone's safety. The snow cleared from the school and bus loading zones is stored on the opposite side of the street or down the block in snow piles.
City staff are monitoring the height of snow piles in school zones
Snow piles will be removed once they reach 60 cm tall to increase visibility of students during pick-up and drop-off, to create more parking spaces and to make storage room for the next snowfall.
What you can expect from us
- Snow pile windrow heights will be measured in school zones once all priority streets grading is complete (within 72 hours after a snowfall ends).
- City or contractor crews remove designated snow piles in school zones within 72 hours once the average height is 60 cm. Snow piles are removed from higher priority school zones every time the street is graded after a snow event (snowfall of more than 5cm).
- No Parking signs will be posted a minimum of 24 hours before snow removal crews plan to arrive. This work happens in the evening and overnight.
How you can help us
- For their safety, keep children off the snow piles. They are not as sturdy as they can appear and it's easy to lose footing and fall into traffic or be injured.
- Be courteous and do not block traffic by parking beside a windrow (snow pile). It makes it difficult for drivers to see children who may be crossing the street.
- Watch for No Parking signs and move your vehicle on the scheduled date so we can remove the snow piles.
- Obey the No U-turn bylaw in school zones.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn’t the snow removed from every school zone every time the snow is graded?
Snow removal is very costly and uses different equipment than we use for grading. It costs around $90,000 to remove snow in school zones each time this work is done, which is 3-4 times per winter.
The following school zones have been currently prioritized for snow removal every time the street is graded after a snow event:
- Dr. John G Egnatoff/Father Robinson School
- Chief Whitecap/St. Kateri Tekakwitha School
- Ernest Linder/St. Lorenzo Ruiz School
- Sylvia Fedoruk/St. Nicholas School
- Ecole St. Mother Teresa/Silverspring School
- Collette Bourgonje/St. Therese of Lisieux School
- Holy Family/Willowgrove School
Why was there a parking restriction for snow removal and then the snow wasn't removed?
Our crews approach each task with best intentions; however, issues come up that can keep them from completing all the work as planned. If the snow wasn't removed on the date posted, the No Parking sign will be replaced with a fresh sign and new date.
Snow removal was completed on my street but there is a pile of snow remaining
- Vehicles parked in front of snow piles after 6 p.m. on the date posted with a sign can prevent crews from removing the snow. The grader operators may return that evening or the snow removal may be rescheduled.
- The goal for removing snow piles is to increase visibility for children during pick-up and drop-off. We only remove snow piles from designated areas, such as across the street and on the same block of the school.
- Operators are skilled at lifting and lowering the grader's blade to keep this space clear; however, large chunks of hard snow can fall from the piles onto sidewalks and driveway entrances. Please contact our customer care centre at 306-975-2476 or send a picture to customercare@saskatoon.ca with a request.
- Generally, the resident is responsible for clearing a ridge of snow left across a driveway after street snow grading; however, in situations where a snow ridge prevents someone from accessing their driveway, we will inspect the location and remove it if required.