Regina doing what it can to combat large amount of snow

Thanks to more snow and gusty winds residents of Regina woke to near zero visibility Tuesday morning and while most people were commuting to work, city crews were already in "storm mode".

Tyler Bien, the Manager of Roadway Seasonal Operations for the City of Regina said "storm mode" means working to keep major thoroughfares passable.

“We aim to keep the major roads drivable by plowing the snow and applying ice control to any high-risk intersections,”Bien said. “This means any high-speed roads or roads with the greatest volume of traffic.”

With wind gusts reaching 65 kilometres an hour, parts of some roads were blocked by snow drifts.

“Some two-lane roads do get down to one lane. We ensure that they still are passable until the blowing snow stops, and conditions improve,” said Bien. “Then we go around and clean up those streets that may have been impacted by the blowing snow,” he added.

It’s not only roads that are affected, some city sidewalks are also being maintained.

“The city is responsible for cleaning around 290 kilometres of sidewalks. Those sidewalks are adjacent to any city parks or city properties or frontage locations,” Bien explained.

After the introduction of a new bylaw at the start of 2022, residents in Regina have 48 hours to clear snow off the sidewalks in front of their properties.

There are community groups like the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre who have a program called Snow Angels to help remove snow if someone is unable to on their own.

Linda Rattray is the office administrator for the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre and said the program has become popular in recent years.

“We started off three years ago with about 15 volunteers and seven people that requested snow angel help,” said Rattray. “We now have about 45 volunteers and about 40 people who require Snow Angels.”

There are currently six centres in Regina that run the Snow Angel program

“There are people out there that physically can't shovel their own snow and can't afford to pay a company to do it,” Rattray said.

Rattray believes the program allows the community to come together

“I think the vast majority of the people signup because they simply want to help others that need their help, I think that's just awesome,” said Rattray.