By the time most residents get their day started in the morning, they have used the services provided by public works in many ways. From enjoying a glass of clean drinking water, brushing teeth and flushing toilets to setting their garbage at the curb and driving on a Regional Road—many daily routines are a little easier because of Lloydminster’s Works Department.
Your public works department:
- provides clean, safe municipal water.
- creates, installs and maintains traffic signs and signals.
- designs, builds and maintains Regional roads and bridges.
- plans, builds and maintains Regional facilities, such as depots and daycares.
- collects and treats wastewater (sewage).
- collects and disposes of garbage, recycling and other waste.
'Your City at Work' highlights the value Lloydminster residents receive from their municipal services and programs. The City of Lloydminster is committed to providing clear and timely communication on:
- street sweeping
- street improvements
- green spaces maintenance
- landfill services
- seasonal outdoor rinks
- winter maintenance
- and more
Winter Preparation
As residents know, there is a small window between summer and winter in Lloydminster. For example, this year prior to the first snow of the season on Thanksgiving Monday, our multi-purpose road maintenance units were still in the process of street sweeping operations. These machines require an equipment change to become operational for winter sanding and clearing.
A large sander and a small sander were prepared to address the initially forecasted 1-3 cm. Overnight, that projection turned into a near 20 cm accumulation, giving our city an early taste of full-blown winter. Per our winter maintenance manual, had the forecast been more accurate, there would have been an additional five to six workers on call, with more units switched over to their winter
mode. These are just some of the nuances and variables that affect winter maintenance and snow clearing.
Snow Clearing vs. Snow Removal
Another key distinction in our winter operations: the difference between snow clearing and snow removal.
Snow clearing is the process of pushing the snow off the roadway with a truck and a blade. The snow ends up in medians and sometime private property.
Snow removal uses snow blowers and loaders to pick up the snow and put it in trucks to transport the snow to a field on the outskirts of town.
Like many municipalities, the City of Lloydminster only conducts full snow removal in the downtown area to keep congestion from building up in the core.
To conduct regular full City and residential removals requires additional resources and capital, currently not feasible under current budget constraints. This is why Council allots $1.5-million per year to cover the approximate cost on one full removal in the event of a snowfall that poses a public safety risk.
Regular Winter Maintenance Operations
Full-time winter operations are gearing up November 1, 2018, with two sanders running from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and two staff on call 24/7. If a snow event is forecasted, additional are staff on call for weekends.
The City of Lloydminster also advises residents of the following:
- City policy itemizes priority routes and defines amounts of snow that require deployment of road-maintenance resources.
- Priority routes exist so residents do not have to travel far to access a plowed road.
- Our Winter Maintenance Policy can be found online at lloydminster.ca/SnowOps.
- It generally takes two days to complete the Priority 1 areas and three to four days to complete Priority 2 areas.
- Blowing snow, poor visibility and continuing snowfall can impact timelines as roads often require additional maintenance.
- The City of Lloydminster values the patience and co-operation of our residents and visitors as municipal staff work through winter maintenance challenges.
- Pushing snow from private property to city roads or trails causes uneven areas on roadways and sidewalks/trails and hinders in winter snow maintenance.
'Your City at Work' updates are regularly shared on our News page, as well as our many social media channels.