So, where’s the snowplow?

Work will continue around the clock to clear city streets after a record storm

Hamilton is warning residents it will take longer than usual to clear snow-clogged side streets and rural roads after a record-breaking storm.

Nearly 160 city and contract snowplows hit the road early Monday to clear escarpment accesses and major arteries — think King and Main streets — even before the overnight storm finished pummeling Hamilton with 40-plus centimetres of the white stuff.

Normally, the municipality aims to have all streets and rural roads cleared within 24 hours of the end of a winter storm. But the city announced a “significant weather event” Monday — a formal declaration under Ontario’s Municipal Act that suspends required winter maintenance timelines.

That means plows will stay busy overnight and potentially well into Tuesday, said acting transportation operations director Mike Field.

“We’re making decent progress ... but the storm dumped more snow than what was forecasted, very quickly,” said Field. “This (storm) ranks as one of the larger events that we’ve had in the past few years.”

Environment Canada said 41 centimetres of snow fell at Hamilton airport by midday Monday. But public works staff also reported snow half-a-metre deep in some areas, particularly in east Hamilton.

Heavy snowfall aside, Field said high winds and blowing snow also create dangerous drifts. That means plows must revisit major within four hours, followed by collector roads within eight hours of the end of a winter storm. (Collectors are streets like King William downtown or Inverness Avenue on the Mountain.)

Field said plows were already attacking some side streets by noon Monday. But even under normal conditions, it can take up to 24 hours after a storm to clear all residential streets and rural roads.

The city is also working to clear bicycle lanes “in concert” with the adjacent roads, in some cases with specialized equipment. So, bike lanes along a major artery like Cannon Street would be cleared faster than those along a collector road.

The city recently voted to beef up sidewalk clearing, too — but that service does not kick in until next winter, so in November or December 2022. Limited sidewalk clearing is going ahead now in places like the commercial downtown.

You can watch the progress of snow-clearing work on the city’s “plow tracker” website. If you’re wondering how your street rates for plowing priority, the city links to a map on its website at hamilton.ca.

The city offers these snow-clearing warnings:

■ Park off the street if at all possible to aid snow clearing;

■ Don’t throw the snow into the street or pile it near a fire hydrant. You can be ticketed;

■ If you have a concern about snow clearing, call the city at 905-5462489.