Medicine Hat deploys full snow-clearing team as the first major snowfall hits the city

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The city says its snow and ice control crews work through a three-tier system to prioritize which roads to work on.

These roads are categorized based on road type, traffic volume and emergency access.

Trevor Funk, the City of Medicine Hat’s Operations Manager, said Category 1 routes are the city’s highest-priority roads.

“It’s your Dunmore roads, Maple avenues, Division avenues, and all the hills within the city and the bridges,” Funk said.

“Then we move into Category 2 roads. And those are like your bus routes and your collector roads,” he added.

“Then our Category 3 roads are like your local roads. The roads in front of people’s homes, those roads you can probably expect to see packed with snow.”

After Category 1 routes are plowed and treated within the first 24 hours of a snowfall, crews shift to Category 2 roads within 48 hours.

Category 3 roads will receive traction control, but are not usually plowed unless conditions warrant it.

The snow and ice control team held its “Meet Our Fleet” initiative, launched last winter, which allowed residents to submit names for snow-clearing equipment.

Several sanders now carry the winning names, including “Taylor Drift,” which has become a local favourite.

The city encourages residents to follow all posted no-parking signs, especially during active snow removal operations.

by Jett Schwaier

Medicine Hat deploys full snow-clearing team as the first major snowfall hits the city

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