- culvert steaming/cleaning
- snow plowing (roads & sidewalks)
- sanding and salting (roads & sidewalks)
- snow removal

General Information
The inspection of roads during the winter maintenance season begins the third Friday of November and continues until the second Friday of April.

Road patrols are carried out each morning commencing at 4:00 am seven (7) days a week.

The Town provides a residential sidewalk and windrow snow clearing service to seniors and physically challenged residents where there is no able bodied person living in the household at no cost. The snow windrow is the snow bank left across your driveway by the snowplow. Applications forms are available by clicking here.

Further information on our road and sidewalk winter maintenance programs are available by calling the Public Works Department.

Culvert Steaming/Cleaning
During the winter months, road culverts and driveway entrance culverts are maintained on an as needed basis in order to prevent ice and snow accumulations which impede flow and create flooding problems on road surfaces and/or private properties.

Snow Plowing
The plowing of roads is generally carried out in accordance with the classification of roads.

Arterial roads such as Main Street and the Tenth Line receive preferred services at all times. These roads are major carriers of traffic and generally connect with major Regional and/or Provincial roads.

Collector roads provide access to Town arterial roads and Regional arterial roads. Examples of this type of road includes Millard Street, Stouffer Street and Hemlock Road.

Local roads such as Ironwood Crescent, Sawmill Lane, Hill Country Drive etcetera, are generally the final roads to be serviced. These roads generally carry low volumes of traffic and are not intended to carry through traffic.

Normal plowing operations of arterial, collector and local roads take approximately (8) hours to complete after the end of a snow storm. Generally the plowing of Arterial and Collector roads will be in progress before the plowing of local roads commence.

At the beginning of a snowfall, the arterial and collector roads are salted and the local roads are sanded at hills, curves and intersections.

Generally, the plowing of roads commences after the accumulation of five (5) centimeters of snow.

All cul-de-sacs are plowed. Generally snow will be pushed to the centre of the cul-de-sac and will remain there until time permits clean-up or the area for snow storage becomes limited.

Sanding and Salting
The sanding and salting of roads are carried out to maintain roads safe and passable. Road salting operations are carried out on arterial roads and collector roads.

Road sanding operations are generally carried out on local roads. Continuous sanding occurs only during freezing rain or general icy conditions.

For a definition of the road classification system refer to the section on snow plowing.

Snow Removal
A regular snow removal program is in place only for Main Street between Albert Street and Park Drive. Generally this activity will take place after the accumulation of snow on the shoulder of the road has reached 0.75 meters is height.

Snow removal in other locations will take place on an as needed basis. Examples include when plowed or piled snow impede the safe and efficient movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, blocked access to fire hydrants, creates unsafe sight distances, children are using the snow piled in cul-de-sacs as play areas.

Sidewalks
The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville does not maintain all sidewalks. Inclusions and deletions of the sidewalks maintained by the Public Works Department are approved at the discretion of Town Council.

Generally, the plowing and sanding of sidewalks maintained by the Public Works Department commences when snow accumulations are five (5) centimeters or greater. The plowing and sanding of sidewalks are normally completed within eight (8) hours after the end of a snowfall.

The Town’s criteria for determining the inclusion of sidewalks into the winter maintenance program is as follows:

1) Sidewalks located on main arterial roads;

2) Sidewalks lead to a school, a municipal facility and buildings housing senior citizens;

3) Walkways: - connecting a street to a street - connecting a street to a school - connecting a street to a municipal facility

4) Sidewalks fronting onto parkland or green space properties which are maintained by the Town;

5) Sidewalks located in unassumed subdivisions providing construction of the sidewalk has been completed and meets either criteria 1, 2, 3 or 4.

For a list of sidewalks maintained by the Public Works Department refer to By-law 2007-251-RD.