“Major cleanup” of roads and sidewalks expected Saturday

January 9, 2014 · 0 Comments

Release from the Town of Aurora

The Town of Aurora will take full opportunity of forecasted warmer temperatures to undertake an extensive clean-up of roads and sidewalks on Saturday, January 11.

“The extended period of extreme cold and inclement weather that began with the severe ice storm on December 21 has made snow and ice removal extremely challenging for our maintenance crews, despite a round-the-clock effort,” said Mayor Geoffrey Dawe. “Residents have understandably expressed their frustration with the conditions of roads and sidewalks and we will be mobilizing all available resources during Saturday’s warmer weather in an effort to clear the remaining ice and snow.”

The Weather Network is forecasting temperatures of 7ºC for Aurora on January 11, and warmer weather throughout the weekend, representing the first time since mid-December that temperatures will be consistently warm enough to thaw ice. Persistent cold temperatures have made ice removal particularly difficult and have hampered the effectiveness of road salt and other substances.

The Town works closely with The Regional Municipality of York to keep sidewalks, local roads and boulevards clear (Town) as well as the arterial road system (Region).

Winter road maintenance and waste collection efforts have been a challenge for municipalities across Greater Toronto that are still grappling with debris removal from the ice storm and mechanical breakdowns and delays from extreme weather.

Earlier this week, The Town of Aurora announced a special yard-waste collection for the week of January 27 to 31 to assist residents with fallen tree branches, and has worked with waste contractor Green for Life (GFL) to add additional personnel and resources to help keep waste collection on-schedule.