Edmonton snow crews on 24-hour schedule after early snowfall

Edmonton's snow and ice crews have been working a 24-hour schedule since Tuesday afternoon in response to early snowfall this month, the City of Edmonton said, and will transition to standard winter shift rotations this weekend.¹

The city said crews proactively adjusted their schedules ahead of the standard operational timeline. A recent update to the SNIC policy (C409L) added accessibility as a core pillar, formalizing the city's commitment to keeping the transportation network accessible for all users.¹

Ensuring safe, reliable, and accessible winter travel is at the core of our snow and ice control operations. We have made off-season adjustments to improve our routing and enhance accessibility. Whenever snow falls, crews will be out to ensure Edmontonians can safely move throughout the mobility network.¹Caitlin Zerebeski, Branch Manager, Parks and Roads Services, City of Edmonton

Road clearing priorities and timelines

The city prioritizes clearing across major roadways, transit routes and active pathways. Service levels start when the snow stops and set expectations for when clearing will be completed, the city said, and are used to measure performance.¹

Essential Roads (Priority 1), including main freeways, major arterial roadways and main business districts, are targeted to be cleared to bare pavement within one day after a snow event ends. Arterial and Collector Roads (Priority 2), including secondary arterial roads, collector roadways, transit routes and Park and Ride access roads, are targeted within five days.¹

Industrial Routes (Priority 3) are addressed within six days. Local and residential roads (Priority 4) are targeted within 14 days once a Residential (Phase 2) parking ban has been activated; the city said residential parking bans are declared as needed based on snow accumulation and do not occur after every snow event.¹

Pathways and other changes

For active pathways, Core Facilities and Pathways (Priority 1), including city facility pathways, transit centres, LRT stations, wheelchair ramps and the Winter Priority Bike Loop, are targeted within one day. Machine City-Maintained Pathways and Transit Access (Priority 2) are targeted within three days, and Manual City-Maintained Pathways and Transit Access (Priority 3), such as neighbourhood breezeways, public benches and fire hydrants, within 14 days. Community Support (Priority 4), including community sandboxes and safe mobility devices, is addressed as resources allow.¹

Other enhancements this winter include fleet optimization, multilingual messaging about snow and ice control operations, and increased communication with community leagues, school boards and business improvement areas. The city said service levels remain unchanged from last year, while scheduling adjustments and fleet optimization will improve service and reduce equipment downtime.¹

Service level titles have been updated this season to more clearly identify each priority category. If a second snow event occurs before all service levels are completed for the initial snowfall, service levels reset, the city said.¹

Residents can check edmonton.ca/SafeTravels and the city's social media channels for operational updates during snow events.¹