Snow Clearing

The City maintains 1,100 km of roads, 800 km of sidewalks and clears snow windrows from the end of 44,000 local, residential driveways. Our Operations staff salt roads and sidewalks during all winter control and initiate snow plowing operations once 5+cm has accumulated or as required.

Primary roads and sidewalks are plowed and salted first, followed by secondary roads and sidewalks. Snow windrow clearing starts after road plows begin their routes.

How long does it take to clear snow?

Staff work hard to clear roads and sidewalks as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once the snow stops, we aim to clear the snow in:

Times may vary due to snowfall amounts, length of storm, time of day (e.g rush hour) and staffing due to COVID-19.

How you can help

Residents can help staff get this job done by doing the following:

• Keep roads and sidewalks clear of parked cars when it’s snowing and before snow is expected so plows and emergency vehicles can get through or you could be ticketed and/or towed. This applies even if you have a temporary parking permit
• Do not place anything within one metre of a road, curb or sidewalk that can become hidden and cause issues for plow operators (e.g. basketball nets, landscaping features, etc.)
• Do not park near the bottom of your driveway
• On your waste collection day, place waste bins away from the curb on the right side of your driveway (when facing the house), so we can clear the snow windrow
• Do not shovel snow back onto the road or sidewalk
• Driving near a snow plow? Keep a safe distance. Blowing snow and blind spots can obscure a driver’s vision, making it harder to see smaller vehicles
• Be a Hydrant Hero by clearing one metre of snow from around fire hydrants near your property to make them accessible in case of an emergency

Subscribe for Winter Maintenance Updates

Track my plow

You can track City snow removal activities in your neighbourhood. See where our road, sidewalk and windrow plows are working and where they've been, as well as plow-dash cam images and weather data from Environment Canada.

Track My Plow

In some situations and depending on traffic conditions plows may appear to be stopped at times. There might be a temporary gap in communication from the vehicle. There is also a short delay before data is displayed online.

Major routes

Major roads, such as Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street, are Regional roads that are maintained by York Region. 

Encroachments

An encroachment is any vegetation, landscaping or other object (i.e. sports equipment) from private property crossing onto all or a part of a public walkway, boulevard, driveway or property. Items encroaching the sidewalk or road may obstruct or be damaged by City snow clearing operations. To assist with our operations and minimize the risk of damage, please mark encroachments with a driveway marker so the plow operator can avoid it. If the item is portable (i.e. sports equipment), please move it out of the way.

The City’s Highway Obstruction By-law (17-87) prohibits the installation of hard landscaping and other types of infrastructure/obstructions within the municipal boulevard, including directly within and adjacent to the sidewalk. As such, the City will not repair damage caused to hard landscaping within these areas caused by the City’s sidewalk snow clearing plows. Anyone obstructing the road or sidewalk does so at their own risk.

If you have any questions about the Highway Obstruction By-law, please call 905-771-0198.