Progress continues to be made despite fresh snow and more drifting

The massive effort to get Saskatoon moving again following a severe blizzard continues, with great progress being made despite fresh snow and more drifting. Since Wednesday, November 11th, 25 per cent of residential streets have been cleared of snow with improved mobility for residents continuing to be a priority.  

“We are continuing to work to improve mobility for as many residents as possible, as quickly as possible”, says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Transportation and Construction. “Great progress continues to be made, and in fact we are ahead of schedule in some neighbourhoods as we continue to bring in contractors to assist us. Although much work has been accomplished, we know much work still needs to be done.”   

As of Saturday morning, the City reports mobility has been restored in 15 neighbourhoods: Kensington, Stonebridge, Hampton, Brighton, Montgomery, Rosewood, Eastview, Arbor Creek, Dundonald, Holiday Park, Mayfair, Erindale, Buena Vista, Lakeridge and Silverspring. Progress has been made in six additional neighbourhoods including Silverwood, Evergreen, Wildwood, Nutana, King George and Willowgrove.  

Schmidt encouraged residents to continue to check the online schedule as updates are made frequently and the schedule at times is advanced with more contractor capacity added.  

“We are seeing significant progress every day and it is very inspiring to see over 300 people working long shifts away from their friends and family – and fellow Saskatoon citizens that are doing everything they can to help get this cleaned up,” says Jeff Jorgensen, City Manager. “We appreciate your extra caution and care as you move around the City. We are continuing to work on residential areas as vehicles are struggling to navigate, but perhaps more importantly to mitigate the risk of significant ruts that could become a problem throughout the winter.” 

With the snow and winds the city is experiencing today, drifting is occurring on some of the priority streets, particularly those with high snow ridges in the medians and on the sides of the street. Crews will monitor these priority streets throughout the day and sand,  salt and plow as required.  

Please do not push snow out onto the street when clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways, as this can clog up streets with even more snow and continue to create accessibility issues. 

More information on our process for snow clearing can be found at saskatoon.ca/snow