Egli Winter Storm Update - Jan 5 2016

7/21/2019 Egli Winter Storm Update - Jan 5 2016

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/egli-winter-storm-update-jan-5-2016 1/5

M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Mayor and Members of Council with anupdate on the winter maintenance operations undertaken to prepare for, respond to and recoverfrom last week’s winter storm.

Weather Conditions

On December 29th, 2015, the city of Ottawa experienced its first winter storm event of the season.While Environment Canada indicated that Ottawa received 20.2 cm of snow during the storm, thiswas based on a localized measurement taken at the Ottawa International Airport and was notrepresentative of the amount of snow that had fallen. Reports received from across the cityindicated depths ranging from 20 cm to 30 cm, with well over 25 cm on the ground in mostlocations.

Snow began falling between midnight and 1 a.m. across the city. By 7 a.m., 10 to 12 cm of snowwas on the ground. During the daytime peak hours, the snow fell heavily at a rate of 3 cm perhour, and by 4:30 p.m., heavy snow turned to light flurries. Across the city, more than 25 cm of

snow fell in approximately 14 hours. In addition to the heavy snow, strong winds, between 30 and50 km per hour, resulted in significant blowing snow.

There were many challenges that contributed to the City’s response to the first winter storm eventof the 2015-2016 winter season as outlined in this memo. However, it is important to note that all613 staff and 588 pieces of equipment were deployed continuously on December 29th andthroughout the following days in order to clear all roadways and sidewalks.

Preparation

The Public Works Department’s winter maintenance activities are planned based on weather

forecasting services from Environment Canada combined with local weather tracking informationand pavement temperature sensors that are installed at different geographic areas in or near thecity. In conjunction with the weather forecasting and measurement equipment, the Departmentalso outfits all management and supervisory staff with access to real-time radar tracking imagingto identify storm patterns and speed of travel.

Over the weekend, the Public Works Department monitored the large winter storm that wastracking across the United States and was expected to cross the Great Lakes before sweeping

To / Destinataire Mayor and Members of Council File/N° de fichier:

From / Expéditeur Chair,

Transportation Committee

General ManagerPublic Works Department

Subject / Objet Winter Storm Update Date: 05 January 2016



through Southern Ontario and eventually arriving in Eastern Ontario in the early morning hours onDecember 29

th.

In anticipation of the pending storm, staff conducted the following pre-storm preparation duties:

• Conducted equipment and vehicle checks

• Stockpiled salt domes with salt and grit

• Placed all staff on-call

• Communicated with Councillors and the media to provide up to date information on theforecasted storm

Response

All equipment and resources were deployed and focused on the Transitway, Ottawa RegionalRoad 174, arterial roads, and main roads overnight and into the early morning. Echelon plowing(i.e.: side by side plowing with multiple plows) was utilized on major roadways to address thesignificant windrows that began to accumulate on multi-lane roadways as plows cleared travellanes.

Priority sidewalks were opened up during the early morning hours, but were quickly filled in withnew falling snow, blowing snow, and snow pushed over from the roadways.

Given the extremely heavy snow accumulation rates, when units were finished their beats, theroads at the beginning of their beats were re-covered with 5 to 10 cm of new snow. This kept theCity’s resources focused on priority roads and resulted in multiple passes on the same roadsthroughout the storm.

Multiple passes on priority roadways ensured that roadways were clear for emergency vehiclesand buses.

In addition to the continuous operations on priority roads, contracted crews and City resourceswere deployed to residential roadways between 9 a.m. and noon to address roads that wereunder as much as 10 to 15 cm of snow, making plowing operations in these areas slow anddifficult. As snow began to dissipate, both City crews and contractors continued to focus onpriority and residential roads before turning their attention to clearing sidewalks and removingsnow from major bus stops.

A winter overnight parking ban was put into effect overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in aneffort to support continuous plowing operations. This was the first event where the City’s 5parking garages were open to the public to ensure as many cars as possible were off the roads.

On Wednesday, December 30th, all resources were deployed to open up lanes along residentiaroads and continue their focus on clearing snow from sidewalks across the city. Due to thesignificant snow accumulation on sidewalks, sidewalk plows were switched for blower units inorder to clear the heavy snow, which significantly slowed the operations as blowers operate ataround one quarter the speed of regular sidewalk plows.

By Wednesday night, snow removal operations began downtown to clear major bus routes, suchas the Mackenzie King Bridge, Slater and Albert as well as the Byward Market. Clean-up



operations continued from Thursday through to Sunday as the city saw an additional 5 cm ofsnow fall over the weekend.

Snow removal downtown and on major arterial roads continues this week with 6 day-time crewsand 4 night-time crews dedicated to removing and hauling snow.

Throughout the storm, the Traffic Incident Management Group convened at the Traffic Contro

Centre to monitor traffic, direct plowing operations, assist in keeping the transit system moving,and adjust the timing of signalized intersections as necessary in order to assist traffic flowFurthermore, staff were present at the OC Transpo Control Centre to assist plowing operations tosupport transit.

Also, throughout the storm, residents were being updated about snow clearing efforts through theCity’s social media accounts, ServiceOttawa staff and numerous media interviews with theManager of Roads Services.

Unique Challenges

There are a number of variables that impact the City’s response to winter storm events, such astiming of the snowfall and temperature. In addition to these variables, there were a number ofunique challenges experienced throughout this storm.

Most significantly, the December 29th winter event brought more than 25 cm of snow to the city inless than 14 hours. This is the largest single day storm event since 2012, and it was the firstwinter event of the season. Another significant challenge unique to this storm was the blowingsnow caused by the gusts of 30 to 50 km per hour winds.

These strong winds resulted in snow being blown onto roadways and, more significantly, ontosidewalks. Blowing snow coupled with the lack of snow banks that usually accumulate from minor

snowfalls caused sidewalks to be filled in rapidly with heavy snow. In an average winter season,minor snowfalls help to create a buffer between the roadway and the sidewalk, ensuring that notall the snow pushed from the roadway falls into the sidewalk. These banks also help to orientplow operators to the edge of the road/sidewalk offering a reference point for where to pushsnow. With the lack of such banks, despite the plow operators’ best efforts, snow wascontinuously pushed into sidewalks and laneways became narrow.

It was also the first time equipment was utilized this season to clear snow and ice from roadwaysand sidewalks. Although staff conduct rigorous winter checks on all equipment, many issues donot come to light until equipment is put under the stress and load of working conditions. As aresult, the City experienced some equipment breakdowns, resulting in delays across the network.

All equipment was quickly brought back on service.

While there were, in some cases, slower responses to the clearing of sidewalks, this was a resultof the heavy accumulation of snow within such a short window.

The City was also experiencing incidents of illegal snow dumping. Illegal snow dumping occurswhen a private individual or contractor pushes snow onto the roadway or sidewalks. This canmake snow clearing even more difficult as the additional load slows down the City’s operations.



All complaints of illegal snow dumping sent to Bylaw and Regulatory Services are investigated,and when there is evidence to substantiate a violation, charges are issued. Often theinvestigations will require photos, statements, and interviews of the defendant prior to consideringappropriate action. A significant amount of snow fell in a short period of time, which resulted in ahigher than usual call volume for ‘snow on the road/sidewalk’ complaints.

Where Is My Plow – Pilot Initiative

In early December, the City announced the launch of the Where Is My Plow web tool that allowsresidents to be informed of the approximate timeline for when a plow will clear their roadway ifthey live on a residential street. This web tool is a pilot initiative and the December 29

th winter

event constituted its first official trial.

Based on the feedback staff received from residents and Councillors via email, 311 and Twitter,issues with messaging caused confusion and led many to believe the web tool was not working.

Staff have noted several lessons learned and will work towards implementing the following

improvements:• Stronger, more dynamic and clear messaging

• Enhanced communications with Councillors and residents

• Technical tweaks to make the tool more user friendly

Staff encourage Councillors and residents to share their ideas for how to improve this service asthe pilot initiative continues.

Summary

As with all weather events of this scope and impact, staff conducts a thorough review of all

operations as a follow up. This includes a review of comments and input from residents, as wellas other sources of information like Ottawa Police Services and OC Transpo, etc.

Looking toward the next storm, the Public Works Department will ensure the followingenhancements are incorporated into its operations:

• Public Works will continue to work with its partners in Corporate Communications to shareinformation with Councillors and residents on an ongoing basis throughout winter stormevents.

• Bylaw has sent reminder letters to all licensed snow plow contractors reminding them thatit is an offense to push/deposit or place snow on the road or sidewalk. The letter will advisethat charges could be issued and for repeat offenders and/or extreme circumstances, their

Licenses can be suspended or revoked.• Bylaw will deploy resources in the core area of the city to specifically deal with contractors

placing snow on the road and sidewalks during the next significant snow event.

As Councillors are aware, the Department is currently conducting the Winter Operations Reviewthat is looking at a number of operational changes to help strengthen the services the Departmentprovides to residents, businesses and visitors. This is a good opportunity to review the City’s



current approach to prioritizing snow clearing operations for all network users. A report will beprovided to the Transportation Committee and Council in the spring.

With every storm staff work 24/7 and do their very best to keep the city moving. The Public WorksDepartment has the mandate to clear snow from the following territory during and after eachstorm:

• 5,661 km of paved roads

• 570 km of gravel roads• 2,195 km of sidewalks

• 233 km of Transitway and Highway 174

• 13 Park & Ride lots with 7,120 parking spots

• 6,000+ bus stops

Should you have any questions about the Department’s winter operations, please contact LucGagné, Manager, Roads Services at extension 26744 or myself at extension 19013.

Keith Egli Kevin WylieChair, General Manager,Transportation Committee Public Works Department

cc: Executive CommitteeChief, Corporate CommunicationsProgram Manager, Media Relations and Public InformationManager, Client OperationsPublic Works Departmental Management Team

Documents

Egli Winter Storm Update - Jan 5 2016