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Snow Removal
Snow Removal
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The City of Vaughan provides residents with a high level of snow-removal services. Whether it’s reducing ice on roads, removing snow from roads or clearing it from paths, sidewalks and windrows, the City’s crews strive to ensure residents and visitors can travel safely despite the weather.
These services may be impacted by a number of factors, including heavy snowfall, accidents and vehicle breakdowns, cars parked on streets — which make it difficult for snowplows to clear the roads — and cars parked on driveways but are either too close to or hanging over the curb.
Road safety is our priority – salting
Main roads:
begins as soon as ice or snow forms on the roads, first round of salting completed within
four hours
Residential roads:
are salted/sanded after main roads are complete, first round of salting completed within
12 hours
Narrow streets (rear laneways):
are salted after main roads are complete, first round of salting completed within
12 hours
Clearing the way – road plowing
Main roads
:
plowing begins as soon as
five centimetres (two inches)
of snow accumulates on the ground, completed within
four hours
after snowfall has ended
Residential roads
:
plowing begins as soon as
five centimetres (two inches)
of snow accumulates on the ground, completed within
12 hours
after snowfall has ended
Narrow streets (rear laneways):
plowing begins as soon as
five centimetres (two inches)
of snow accumulates on the ground, completed within
16 hours
after snowfall has ended
Courts
, also called
cul-de-sacs
, require the use of special equipment and can take longer to clear. The centre of a court is designed for snow storage. Snow is intentionally piled in the middle of a court and is removed when there is no longer enough room around a pile for safe passage of snowplows, emergency vehicles and garbage collection.
Clearing the way – sidewalks
Main road sidewalks:
are plowed first and as soon as
five centimetres (two inches)
of snow accumulates on the ground, including sidewalks around York Region Transit stops (stops are cleared by York Region) and along schools and churches, these routes may be salted and plowed more than once before moving onto residential areas
Residential sidewalks:
sidewalks, crosswalks, school crossings, paths and walkways within parks
and private roads are cleared once sidewalks on main roads are complete
For a full list of maintained sidewalks, view the
sidewalk plowing map
(PDF).
Clearing the way – industrial areas
Business districts:
are cleared once snow windrows reach or exceed a height of
45 centimetres (18 inches)
Other roads:
are cleared at the discretion of the City
Clearing the way – windrows
The City’s windrow service is provided to residential driveways fronting Vaughan roadways.
Learn more about Vaughan’s windrow service
.
Doing your part
If you are a resident or business owner in Vaughan, you too have a part to play during a snowfall to help keep the community safe and winter operations running smoothly.
Keep cars off the street while snowplows are clearing the roads.
This allows crews to safely carry out plowing operations and ensures the City can get the entire street cleared. It is also important to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles. Did you know it’s
illegal
to park on the street overnight in Vaughan between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.?
Read more about this parking by-law
.
Place garbage, recycling and composting bins on the right-hand side of the driveway.
Make sure to keep them about one metre (three feet) away from the curb, especially on collection days when plows may be coming.
Remove ice and snow on the sidewalk in front of or along your property by shoveling and/or throwing down salt.
This must be done within 24 hours after snowfall has ended to ensure the community is safe for pedestrians. This applies to you if you are a homeowner, and/or you own vacant land or industrial or institutional buildings, whether occupied or unoccupied.
Read more about this by-law
and its
amendment
. If there is a fire hydrant on or near your home or business, please make sure it’s clear of snow.
It is illegal to shovel snow or ice onto the road
.
Be mindful of where you are putting snow when you’re shoveling your sidewalk or driveway.
Read the Ontario Highway Traffic Act – section 181
. If there is a fire hydrant on or near your home or business, please make sure it’s clear of snow.
Remove anything that may interfere with or be hazardous to plow crews.
This includes landscaping features like fencing, hedges, basketball nets, decorative stones, pots, bird baths, etc.
Read more about this by-law
.
If there is a
catch basin
near a home, the resident is responsible to clear the catch basin of snow and ice and a pathway to the catch basin. This allows for proper drainage and helps prevent flooding.
Regional vs. municipal roads – who is responsible for what?
Some streets in Vaughan, such as Bathurst Street, Dufferin Street, Keele Street and Major Mackenzie Drive, are managed and plowed by York Region.
This interactive map
highlights (in red) all the roads York Region is responsible to plow in Vaughan.
Do you live on a regional road that hasn’t been plowed yet? Here are all the ways you can contact the Region to get your snowplow update:
Follow or Tweet
@YorkRegionGovt on Twitter using the hashtag
#OnYRRoads
Email the Road Maintenance division at
TRN_Roads_Operations_Dispatch@york.ca
Call the Road Maintenance division at 905-830-4444, ext. 75200
Follow Us Online
Contact Information
Transportation and Fleet Management Services
Twitter:
@City_of_Vaughan
SNOW hotline:
905-879-SNOW (7669)
Email:
snow@vaughan.ca
Phone:
905-832-2281
Location:
Joint Operations Centre
2800 Rutherford Rd.
Vaughan, ON L4K 2N9
Related Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Newsroom
Parks, Forestry and Horticulture Operations
Transportation and Fleet Management Services
Windrow Clearing
Additional Resources
Regional Roads
York Region
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