Mr. Horne delivers the city's snow plan for 2013-14

With many on council channeling their inner Mark Madryga and advising that there won't be snow this year, City Council on Tuesday heard a review of the city's snow removal plan, just in case we have to deal with any accumulations of the white stuff this year.

Bill Horne, the City's General Manager of Engineering and Public Works was at Council to answer an inquiry from Councillor Kinney of October 28th, as to why the City does not plow snow into the middle of the road, like many other communities in Canada do during the winter.

Mr. Horne reviewed the reasons why Prince Rupert chooses not to use that method, which mainly dealt  with space constraints downtown and staffing levels required for that particular operation.

He also reviewed some of the past years of snow removal and how budget constraints control much of how the city approaches snow removal, outlining the process that Public Works puts in place when snow falls on the city.

Of particular interest to Council should be his observation regarding the shovelling of downtown storefront areas, which provides for a bit of a patchwork quilt approach with the number of empty stores currently in the city's main 3rd Avenue commercial district.

Mr. Horne's report to Council can be read from the City's agenda archive. (Page 10)

Unexpected snowfall accumulations have in the past provided for a challenge for Public Works, particularly as the City doesn't have quite the same budget in place for snow removal, that other communities which see snow more frequently than Prince Rupert may have.

You can review his talking points from the City's Video Archive, the snow planning is discussed from 17 to 30 minutes.

No doubt both City Council and the public are hoping for frequent arrivals of the Pineapple Express to delay the need to plow the roads as long as possible.