Working to clear snow

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lesliepaul
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Kelowna Streets

Post by lesliepaul »

Just got back from driving around our fair city and I will tell you that the roads are absolutely horrendous. Sexsmith, Glenmore, Union to name a few are skating rinks. Union up to Wilden is a death trap at the time of this posting. I do not know what is wrong with the people in charge but SALT is the answer and lots of it. With our current temperatures our main roads should be WET not mirrors. Oh, and to the advocates of Ice Radials........both our cars have them and YES they in excellent condition so we do not have to hear a "tire story". I expect.....no, make that demand that our tax dollars provide SAFE driving conditions......not perfect, but what I just witnessed and experienced is a complete lack of "giving a S#@T" on the part of the City of Kelowna.

Hey Mayor........Costco has Alaskan Ice Melt on for $21.95 for a large box........buy a thousand of them and get your hands dirty or do you think "Rainbow Crosswalks" at $20,000.00 a shot is more important than your tax payers driving safety.
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RustyCrayon
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by RustyCrayon »

I completely agree! I have lived in over a dozen different cities across Canada. This area wins for worst snow removal. It's absolutely ridiculous!
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Bpeep
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by Bpeep »

It's like this every year.
One of the city's talking heads will be on the box tomorrow raving about the long hours operators are putting in at the expense of family time.
They know that the majority of people are brain dead and believe whatever they get spoon fed.
They'll let nature take its course. Ice and snow sublimes and melts.
Soon it'll all be gone, city council and equipment operators will be hailed as heroes, and there'll be a small justifiable increase on your property tax bill.
Most just bend over and accept it like the majority of the dumbed down peons do.
Civic behaviour is fuelled by greed, arrogance and despair.
Last edited by Bpeep on Dec 28th, 2015, 10:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Kelo_Can613
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by Kelo_Can613 »

I've gone up and down Glenmore Rd twice today and it was fine. Sexsmith Rd had some snow, but it was not terrible by any means. The plows were out this morning in my neighborhood at around 2 AM.

Just to clarify, I JUST drove on Sexsmith Rd from Reid's Corner to Valley Rd.
dodgerdodge
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by dodgerdodge »

Up here in West Kelowna estates area we haven't seen a plow for 2 days. The cul d sac we live in is on a hill and a nightmare to get out of unless you have 4 wheel drive and winters. I have seen 2 separate people with front drive cars get stuck and my sons front wheel drive car with great winters on cannot get up without taking a run up from the back of our drive, in fact we helped one of the people stuck earlier by hand clearing part of the road and letting them reverse up our drive.
A few days ago when we got the first couple of days of snow we had multiple plow visits, to the point where we wondered if they were bored, now when we really need it nothing!
That said i noticed that some businesses in Pandosy area and the pathways around them were lacking any kind of snow removal this morning and i assume this would be down to private contractors failing to get it done. This was very late morning, not early so quite surprising. I also know people who live in Sanoma Pines on First Nation land and their street clearing was not done properly and many of the side streets are like ice rinks and more than one sign has been knocked out by sliding vehicles.
lesliepaul
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by lesliepaul »

Too many small time people with 3/4 tons and blades on the front to do much good with this much snow......pushing aside the top 2 inches of 5 is not a big help. The larger 5 ton trucks with heavier blades can at least take the snow off closer to pavement but that still leaves very slick roads when the temperature drops........salt and sand have to be applied after that.

Any areas of Kelowna with steep road grades NEED lots of sand AND SALT....simple as that. I am guessing, about 10 years ago nobody could get up Dilworth from the railroad tracks because of the slippery conditions.....traffic was backed up to Enterprise. Do none of the city councilors live up in higher areas? You would think they do not have to be told EVERYTIME we get a serious dump to at least address the steeper areas.

Hard to believe there are people out there that think this is "good enough". Too worried about taxes going up to make our roads safer I guess. If there is one thing our elected councilors and mayor have to get through their "rose colored" glasses is that we want value, not "touchy, feely" crap catering to some group that think my money is theirs.
oko11
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by oko11 »

Kelowna roads are 100% better than west Kelowna roads. we live in glenrosa and haven't seen a snow plow yet. called their after hours number 3 times to ask for a plow on our road....nothing yet. close to a foot of snow
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fluffy
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by fluffy »

lesliepaul wrote:Any areas of Kelowna with steep road grades NEED lots of sand AND SALT....simple as that.


Is salt still used at all ? I thought I'd read somewhere once upon a time that the environmental concerns of the salt eventually entering the water system were serious enough to consider limiting its use.
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Queen K
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by Queen K »

lesliepaul wrote:Just got back from driving around our fair city and I will tell you that the roads are absolutely horrendous. Sexsmith, Glenmore, Union to name a few are skating rinks. Union up to Wilden is a death trap at the time of this posting. I do not know what is wrong with the people in charge but SALT is the answer and lots of it. With our current temperatures our main roads should be WET not mirrors. Oh, and to the advocates of Ice Radials........both our cars have them and YES they in excellent condition so we do not have to hear a "tire story". I expect.....no, make that demand that our tax dollars provide SAFE driving conditions......not perfect, but what I just witnessed and experienced is a complete lack of "giving a S#@T" on the part of the City of Kelowna.

Hey Mayor........Costco has Alaskan Ice Melt on for $21.95 for a large box........buy a thousand of them and get your hands dirty or do you think "Rainbow Crosswalks" at $20,000.00 a shot is more important than your tax payers driving safety.



They're saving their budget for more free neighbouhood BBQs.

Seriously, the "flat" side streets of Stockwell, Fuller, etc. have been so badly neglected for so many years, I've seen people out hand shoveling them.
As WW3 develops, no one is going to be dissing the "preppers." What have you done?
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TreeGuy
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by TreeGuy »

oko11 wrote:Kelowna roads are 100% better than west Kelowna roads. we live in glenrosa and haven't seen a snow plow yet. called their after hours number 3 times to ask for a plow on our road....nothing yet. close to a foot of snow


Which road do you live on?
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Anonymous123
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by Anonymous123 »

lesliepaul wrote:Any areas of Kelowna with steep road grades NEED lots of sand AND SALT....simple as that.


fluffy wrote:Is salt still used at all ? I thought I'd read somewhere once upon a time that the environmental concerns of the salt eventually entering the water system were serious enough to consider limiting its use.


I was up in the Vernon area yesterday and the roads were black and wet, so I'm guessing that they use salt in the North Okanagan.
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fumbler
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by fumbler »

Sounds like a brigade of snowplows just went up Westside Road.
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twofingers
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by twofingers »

We live on Dilworth - our cul-de-sac was finally plowed mid-day yesterday - much better than the January 2015 fiasco.
I watched the plow make two passes in front of my house so the driver could get maximum enjoyment out of leaving a 2 - foot bloackade across the front my driveway rather than just an unsatisfying 1-foot pile.
The fuming neighbours created enough heat and energy describing the City staff with little bitty words that the whole mess should have vapourized instantly.
We are in a "snow zone" which, according the the City, means we have 24 hours to get parked vehicles off the street after we receive notice that there is snow on the ground...(like we need a letter to tell us that...)
Good idea C of K - most of the time, the snow will melt by then saving wear and tear on their equipment.
I did notice a two man crew with a truck and a Honda snowblower that were dispatched shortly afterwards to work on the pathway leading up the mountain. Gotta get that cleared so Henry's poodle has a place to pee......
SteWe
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by SteWe »

Pardon me for not exactly knowing this given I'm new here, but hasn't West Kelowna recently been designated a city, and formed its own government, and therefore snow plowing is up to the powers that be in that newly formed jurisdiction?

I found the roads were pretty good on the Kelowna side.
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Relentless
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Re: Kelowna Streets

Post by Relentless »

A few of us actually go out and spend hours and hours shoveling our residential street because plows will show up once its half melted, sometimes 3 or 4 days after the brunt of the storm.
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