City preparing for winter

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on November 2, 2024.

Herald photo by Al Beeber Transportation Operations manager Julianne Ruck points to a city truck that has been fitted with a snowplow for the upcoming winter snow removal season.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Winter is coming! For Lethbridge residents, that means the return to bi-weekly green cart pickup and a reminder about city snow routes.

On a brisk Friday morning at the City of Lethbridge salt quonset – appropriate weather for such announcements as fog enveloped the nearby river valley – media was told by Waste and Recycling Operations manager James Nicholls that curbside organics will only be picked up every second week starting Monday. The City is asking residents to download the Lethbridge Loop app which will provide updates on when pickup is for a person’s home.

Nicholls said that with colder months on the horizon most of the organics material put into green carts is kitchen waste rather than yard material. And he suggested to make sure waste doesn’t stick to the insides of the cart that residents use some type of liner such as yard waste bags in which to put their organics material.

The program has been successful, Nicholls said, with 11,500 tonnes of organic material diverted from the landfill which amounts to about 350 kilograms per city household.

Contamination levels in the carts only amounts to about two to three per cent, Nicholls said in response to a question.

However, more organics material could be diverted from the landfill because about 30 per cent of stuff put into the black carts consists of organics, he noted.

Transportation Operations manager Julianne Ruck reminded residents to get prepared for the upcoming season by winterizing their vehicles, installing winter tires and putting emergency kits in vehicles.

During summer, tandem trucks are used by the City for regular hauling of material but before winter plows and sanders are installed on them, Ruck said, to be prepared for any kind of upcoming weather.

A priority is system is used in the snow and ice control system with Priority 1 arterial roads including Whoop-Up Drive, Scenic Drive and Mayor Magrath Drive being cleared first. Then Priority 2 and 3 roads are taken care of.

During significant winter events, the City also declares snow routes which can be activated anytime between Nov. 1 and April 1. When snow routes are activated, temporary on-street parking restrictions come into effect and plowing is done to the right.

The City had a lot of feedback last year about windrows along the right side of routes created issues, especially for residents with mobility issues so council asked the Transportation department to consider a program open windrows for people in need, Ruck said.

So far, there has been “good interest” in the windrow program with nearly 500 people signing up for the free program, said Ruck, who noted those who have signed up are elderly residents and those with mobility issues which was the City’s intent.

“The goal is to still have sustainable service levels that we can pay for but allow people to have equal access when they have challenges,” added Ruck.

The City has 12 plows allocated per shift that are dedicated to snow clearing as well as spares. Staff will be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week making sure city streets are opened as quickly as possible.

The colder the weather gets the less effective salt is so the City has several piles with different ratios of salt and sand.