As the most recent blast of snow begins to melt, City of Burnaby officials say their number one concern is flooding.
Erik Schmidt, the roads and drainage superintendent, told the NOW all available crews are out clearing catch basins and removing snow banks.
“We’ll plow out the rest of the side streets as we can, but right now the focus really is on mitigating any flooding concerns,” he said, adding his team has been working around the clock since last Friday.
As for clearing the white stuff, Schmidt said the city will exceed its annual $1.1-million snow removal budget by more than double. In December alone, the city spent $2.7 million, bringing the total to $3.5 million on snow removal for the year, according to a staff report.
“Additional funding is going to be provided from emergency reserves, so we don’t anticipate the need to adjust any service levels in other areas to accommodate snow removal work,” said Schmidt.
Any pavement repairs related to the snowy weather will also be funded by the emergency reserve, he added. The city’s annual pavement maintenance budget is $860,000.
Asked if the city was more prepared for last week’s dump of snow compared to December’s, Schmidt said yes.
One adjustment his department has made to improve service since the first snowflake fell is to supplement the fleet. Contractor backhoes and dump trucks have been added to remove snow on the side streets and laneways.
“This has greatly assisted with garbage collection,” Schmidt said. “It’s been almost eight years since our last major snowfall event in 2008/09, and so we’ve got new drivers, new crews, new staff. I think as the events continue and we see them with more frequency, we get a little more experience and we’re able to react a little more efficiently.”
The same could be said for folks shovelling their walkways, according to the superintendent. He said he’s seen more residents and businesses on top of the task this month than in December.
While city crews are responsible for clearing streets, clearing sidewalks falls to residents and property owners. Otherwise, there’s an $80 fine. As of Feb. 8, the city had issued 597 warning letters and 81 tickets.
“I think the warnings and the tickets have helped,” said Schmidt.
Meanwhile, Simon Fraser University, which is responsible for clearing the majority of the roads on Burnaby Mountain, will also be exceeding its $400,000 snow removal budget for the year.
Kurt Heinrich, director of communications at the school, told the NOW it’s expected to double.
The biggest problem SFU faces when it snows is maintaining bus service. Coast Mountain Bus Company operates articulated buses. They’re double the size of a regular bus, to accommodate the high volume of riders, but don’t fare well in the snow.
“It can create a lot of challenges for getting those folks down,” said Heinrich. “That has been the most significant challenge.”
Heinrich said another concern for staff was the shortage of salt. Crews ran out in December and had to go a few weeks without it, making snow removal difficult.
And with the campus shut down on a handful of occasions due to Old Man Winter, Heinrich said midterms will have to be rescheduled.
“I think, generally speaking, it’s absolutely disruptive when you cancel classes, but when you look at (the) full year, it isn’t a huge amount,” he said.
