Town of Strathmore increasing snow plow routes

As part of its annual review, the Town of Strathmore has made several amendments to the winter road, pathway and sidewalk maintenance policy.

One of these amendments involves the snow clearing for the Strathmore Fire Department. Town of Strathmore's Operations Manager Donna McCallum explained the Town would be taking over clearing of the overhead door approaches and the remainder of the parking lot. The FD was previously contracting this work out, and the Town taking this responsibility will lower costs with little extra effort needed.

Since last reviewing this bylaw, the Town has since built new pathways, sidewalks, and roads, which has been reflected in the amendment process. In addition to previous responsibilities, the Town has also added:

• The newly constructed sidewalk on Westridge Road
• A new pathway connecting Pirate Park with Strathmore Lakes
• A new pathway connecting Hillview with Lakewood
• The Town owned parking lot at 2nd Ave and 3rd St.

These are only some of the changes made. Other pathways and locations were added, and there were many re-prioritizations. The Town operates plows on a priority basis, going from the most important priority 1 to priority 3. However, not every single pathway and road is listed as a priority, but McCallum explained the Town still monitors these roads.

"Non-priority roads are plowed on an as-needed basis. Once we're done an event, we'll go through all the roadways and do an assessment, and if we find that the roads are impassable or residents are having difficulty getting out of their area, we'll send either  a grader or a snow plow in. And sometimes it might just be sanding to help get some traction to get out," she said.

If you live on a non-priority road and feel maintenance is needed, McCallum added you can contact the Town.

"What I would suggest is that you either suggest a CCF (Citizen Complaint Form) or a service request via city works. Another really great option is to just call operations as well."

You can find all of this information on the Town's website. You can also see the full details and snow plow priority map by going to the Town's website and downloading the Town's council agenda. Starting on page 50 you will find the full map.