State of our Roads

[joyfulreunion]

Hi
I have lived in Kelowna long enough to see every kind of winter but I have never seen the streets in such a state. Like everyone i watched with interest when the new snow machine made it's appearance. We never saw it in the flats of central Kelowna. I am fine with the old method of plowing sanding and salting. It is annoying when the driveway is blocked with the snow that is plowed but that is nothing new.each neighbour takes their turn helping.
What is new is that not only in front of our home but everywhere downtown there are mounds of ice from snow that has been left and compacted.I am not talking about the area we are responsible for. I mean the bicycle lane. Downtown I have to park in the middle of the street along with everyone else to exit the car safely.
I watched the plow go down the street and the areas I speak of our street were never cleared. There were days over the holidays when there were no cars parked on the side of the road because the message went out that street cleaning was happening. I expected the plow to move along these areas when they were clear of the vehicles that use it for parking. i never saw that extra pass once. Realistically why wouldn't they do this with the plow when it is wide open and available.
Now everywhere we drive to there is compacted ice which makes it treacherous for walking especially for those with mobility issues.
it would be impossible to cross these areas with mobility aids or anything on wheels. Why is this year so bad?

[voice of reason]

kelowna never really does snow removal . they just push it to the side and wait for it to melt . the onlytime anything gets removed is when Bernard s a disaster and here is nowhere for people to park . the city will break out the front end loader and remove the snow then . the rest of the city doesnt seem to matter . in the past they used to dump snow at the old sea plane base or on bennetts property on sprinfield . i dont really see that anymore . the attitude seems to be if we wait long enough it will melt

[GordonH]

I believe OP maybe talking about the machine in this link, many towns/cities use similar machines for snow removal. Majority of them receive considerably more snow then Kelowna ever does or will.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/4 ... r-snowfall

[joyfulreunion]

Except for the lengthy cold spell Kelowna gets a lot of snow. It may vary from year to year but this year is an average amount. Typically there will be one more big dump between now and mid February with maybe a full melt in between. We have seen green Christmases followed by large snowfalls that last until March.
Everything is relevant. We don’t see what the prairies do but we are budgeted for the average amount we get. My feeling is that if the city is doing”curb to curb” they shouldn’t be afraid to plow an empty bike lane. It’s just one more pass on each side.

[soupy]

The 3 guarantees in life:

1. Death
2. Taxes
3. People complaining about snow removal/plowing in the winter

[Fancy]

Roads are being fixed, sanded and plowed today. I don’t mind waiting a minute or two while crews are working.

[Glacier]

Except for the lengthy cold spell Kelowna gets a lot of snow. It may vary from year to year but this year is an average amount. Typically there will be one more big dump between now and mid February with maybe a full melt in between. We have seen green Christmases followed by large snowfalls that last until March.
Everything is relevant. We don’t see what the prairies do but we are budgeted for the average amount we get. My feeling is that if the city is doing”curb to curb” they shouldn’t be afraid to plow an empty bike lane. It’s just one more pass on each side.

Average annual snowfall at Kelowna = 89 cm
Lethbridge, AB = 112 cm, only about 25% more.

Average snowdepth in the peak of winter (Dec 31st) at Kelowna = 12cm
For Lethbridge = 4 cm.

So 3 times as deep in Kelowna.

Average daily snowdepth in January at Kelowna = 10 cm
Lethbridge = 4 cm

So a lot more snow on the ground in the winter in Kelowna.

How do their respective snow budgets compare, I do not know.

[andreat5]

Kelowna is a rich city and should be ashamed of the state of the roads. Their equipment looks like children's tonka toys. Like where does all the tax money go???

[alanjh595]

Kelowna is a rich city and should be ashamed of the state of the roads. Their equipment looks like children's tonka toys. Like where does all the tax money go???

If you don't know the answer to your own questions, you have not been paying attention.

3 posts in 16 years and this is the best question that could be thought up?

[Fancy]

…Their equipment looks like children's tonka toys. …

Would be interested in a comparison to similar cities.

[alanjh595]

How much of the city's budget should be put aside to pay for heavy-duty equipment to remove snow for 2 weeks a year? The other 50 weeks, it would b sitting in the works yard doing nothing.

[marvin gardens]

Lots of posts on snow removal
Snow removal,budgets, pieces of equipment and other irrelevant in formation is front page news in our local daily.
No, the equipment rarely sits idle after winter.
It is multi purpose.
Dump trucks, pick ups f.e. loaders are all used for other purposes.Employees do other work.
Some of the "push the snow" people, are contractors.
I have stated before, the people supervising and handling snow, seem to change personnel on a regular basis. Most don't have a clear cut plan before the snow falls..Shoving it aside, rather than remove, waiting for it to melt.Talking endlessly about budgets. Maybe Kelowna harbours this like other illusions: a snowless city. You know..."Palm Springs North"
Notice too, piles of snow occupying parking slots in business areas.
Crews are still working and could remove the residual piles with a loader and a dump truck, which the city owns.
Requests for service? Don't bother.
Did so for a section of my street that was bypassed when crews did their initial work.
Got an acknowledgement and thank you, but, no removal.