Winter Maintenance

• There are three classifications of roads within SDG Counties: Provincial, County and Municipal/Township roads. Each road network has a different level of service.
• Provincial roads, managed by Ontario Ministry of Transportation are responsible for Highway 138, 401 and 417.
• SDG County Roads are identified by number within a white “Keystone” or “Flower Pot” symbol. County roads are designed to a higher standard with a wider platform and asphalt surface. These are generally longer roads joining municipalities across SD&G.
• Municipalities are responsible for the smaller, collector roads and neighbourhood streets. Municipal roads are identified by name and can have either an asphalt or gravel surface.

• To optimize plowing efficiency, plows are dispatched to their assigned routes from three different Township patrol yards. Most routes start at, or are very close to, each of these yards.
• If the plow is travelling with its plow and wing up, it is either out of service or heading to its assigned route.
• Various municipalities and private contractors use County Roads to reach their assigned routes on local roads. They are commonly mistaken for County plows.

By law, snow must be removed from the travelled portion of the road. Plows are designed with a fixed blade and wing that always pushes the snow towards the ditch, or in some cases, driveways.

This is a common complaint in every municipality that is affected by the winter. There have been multiple strategies and options reviewed by a variety of cities and municipalities in the past. Unfortunately, none of them work or they prove too costly. There is little that the Township can do to prevent this occurrence. It is best to remove the snow from your driveway early and often to prevent ice buildup in the snow bank.

• The roads are quite wide and require multiple passes to remove all snow from the roadway.
• Additional clearing of the shoulders improves sight lines and creates more snow storage space for the next winter event.

Plows do not deviate from regular routes - if they did, the snow removal operations would take twice as long and would leave some roads in a dangerous state.

If you have an appointment, please monitor the weather and plan ahead.

In a true emergency, emergency services will contact the necessary offices to ensure our efforts and response are coordinated.

No! Under the Highway Traffic Act, it is illegal to deposit snow or ice on a roadway.

Local municipalities are responsible for the maintenance of all sidewalks and pedestrian crossings.

The Township is responsible for the maintenance of the sidewalks on county roads and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry is responsible for the road surface.

In a perfect world, this could be coordinated, but in reality neither the Township, nor the County know when they are going to initiate winter operations.

Ultimately there is no easy solution, but, sidewalks typically require multiple passes anyway, so it is not a large hinderance.

The Township’s service level and budget allocation for winter control on sidewalks is to maintain them to a snow-packed condition, and sidewalk plows/blowers are not capable of clearing snow and ice from sidewalks to the extent that bare concrete is exposed in all conditions.

Snow and ice often bonds to the concrete during extreme temperatures, and ice can also form on snow packed sidewalks during thaw/freeze cycles.

Other factors, such as overgrown sod on the edge of the sidewalk or a buildup of residual ice and snow under wheel tracks, can cause the edge of the plow or blower to ride above the surface of the sidewalk. All affected areas are treated with abrasives for traction.

This is done when fluctuating temperatures are causing melting snow/ice that freezes as the temperature drops, resulting in slippery conditions on the sidewalks.

The Township sidewalk plows these areas in the interest of public safety to prevent slip and falls.

The sanding process involves travelling the entire route to identify areas that require sanding; although the plow may not have been applying sand when you saw it, there may have been conditions elsewhere along the route that required sanding.

Property owners are responsible for the removal of snow from around their mailbox.

If it is determined by staff that the mailbox was damaged because it has been physically struck by any part of the plow, the Township will repair or replace the mailbox with a standard metal mailbox and 4X4 post meeting Canada Post’s standards.

When one sees the plow’s flashing blue lights, please move over to give operators room to work. This includes intersections where the plows are required to back up multiple times to clear the intersection.

If you believe your vehicle has been damaged by a plow, please contact your insurance company, and advise our office at 613-525-3087.

• The Township strives to prevent the loss of granular from its shoulders. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, this is sometimes unavoidable.
• As the snow melts there are areas where it will seem that there is a significant amount of granular material pushed into the ditch. In most cases the actual loss of granular tends to be minimal and is usually contained within the right of way.
• Unfortunately, we do not have the necessary resources to cleanup the granular lost from our shoulders as a result of winter operations.
• When clearing your driveway please keep the snow on your property, not on the road. Pushing snow back onto or across the road creates unsafe road conditions for motorists and is prohibited by the Highway Traffic Act.