The City of Cranbrook would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding as they battled a tough winter storm through the latter half of December.

Unique conditions saw significant snowfall upon wet and slushy roads, followed by a steep dip into freezing weather. This resulted in quickly developing compact snow and ice that caused very slippery conditions and difficulty getting snow cleared while keeping priority roads safe.

The city’s Snow Removal Policy says that Classification “A” Roads, which are major streets, emergency response routes, and transit routes, must be cleared of snow before moving to on to lesser classification roads. This often means that these higher priority roads need continuous plowing, salting, and sanding during a storm event to maintain safety for higher traffic volumes and speeds, as well as emergency response traffic, before equipment moves to side streets and residential roads.

It is also important that residents and property owners remember that they are responsible for clearing sidewalks in front of their premises, and not to move snow from parking lots onto city sidewalks.

The city recognizes that windrows can be difficult to move, and often can be encountered multiple times during and after a storm as plows try to clear off snow, ice, and slush. The city encourages residents to help their neighbours that may need assistance on this wherever possible.

The city, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Kootenays, is always looking for volunteers to be part of their Snow Angels program, which helps those unable to clear their own walkways and driveways. For more information about the program.

Sidewalk clearing along Highway 3 and through the downtown also remains of concern for many people.

The City Streets and Traffic Bylaw requires occupants or owners of any property abutting or fronting upon a portion of a sidewalk in a commercially zoned area to clear the sidewalk of snow and ice. Property owners are not allowed to put snow from their property onto the sidewalk. The city does bring its equipment onto major highway sidewalks once priority streets have been cleared but cannot control the timing and amount of snowfall that comes from highway plowing operations. The city is working on strategies to improve awareness and enforcement of these bylaws.

Winter road maintenance information is available on our website around what happens during a major snow event and what our levels of service are around road and sidewalk cleaning. There is also information about what our residents can do to help with snow clearing, and tips on both winter driver and pedestrian safety.

Residents are also reminded of our PlowCRANBROOK tool (pictured), which provides an outlet where you can see where plows have cleared snow in the past 24 hours up to the last seven days, including where the snowplows are currently.

City of Cranbrook

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