City moves into clearing priority two routes, some residential areas

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McGeachy said the city decided not to institute the snow route parking bans because of the “extreme” amount of snow that had accumulated over the last 48 hours.

“In some cases what we do is push the snow to the curb so with this volume of snow, that could cause some issues,” he said. “We’re also going to have some nice temperatures over the next couple of days, we’ve got the stay at home COVID orders and it’s also the holiday season so we like to be compassionate.”

“We’ll continue chipping away at this and there is more snow in the forecast but we will be prepared for that and hopefully this is all an afterthought by this time next week.”

There has also been some disruption, but no cancellations, to the city’s waste and recycling collection.

Though the city’s road department is not responsible for clearing snow from back lanes and alleys, the waste and recycling department does have their own sanders to ensure accessibility as needed.

According to Calgary Police, over the last 48 hours, from Monday, Dec. 21 at noon to Wednesday, Dec. 23 at noon, police recorded a total of 240 vehicle collisions, 22 resulting in injury, and 42 hit and runs.

City of Calgary’s 311 line has also been inundated with hundreds of calls for “snow on road” and “snow on pathway,” as of Wednesday morning.

McGeachy said roads is working closely with 311 to ensure the highest priority residential routes are cleared as soon as possible.

Environment Canada called for a high of 1C Wednesday, 7C Thursday and 2C Friday before going back below zero on Saturday with a high of -8C and periods of snow forecasted.