Winter weather and road conditions are monitored by the city's operations staff, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff clear roads, sidewalks and trails according to provincial maintenance standards and municipal bylaws.
Clearing and salting begins on uptown and commuter trails with a minimum of 5 cm of snowfall. The following priority trails are cleared first as they connect people to major transportation networks: Spurline Trail, Iron Horse Trail and Laurel Trail. Service is usually completed between 24 and 48 hours after snow has stopped falling.
Once staff have cleared the priority network of commuting routes, other city cleared sidewalks, trail links and park pathways are cleared.
During continuous snowfalls, primary routes may require multiple passes before staff can move into the lesser-used secondary routes. For residents and property owners residing on city-maintained sidewalks and trail routes, we ask that vehicles not be parked over the city maintained areas to allow crews to complete their passes.
As a reminder, please do not deposit snow from private properties onto sidewalks/trails and roadways as this can be very dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
For more information about the city's snow clearing priorities for roads, sidewalks and trails and some safety tips, visit
waterloo.ca/snow. View our
short video with Kevin, one of our snow plow operators to learn more about the plowing process and challenges.
