Although snow is likely not going to hit the valley bottom for a month or more, snow is already hitting nearby highway mountain passes so the City of Kelowna is getting a jump start on its snow and ice control.
There are some new changes to the program this year, says a staff report headed to council on Monday.
That includes two new response zones, bringing the total to 21 with a dedicated truck per zone.
Staff say the response zones were redrafted to deliver more consistent services across the city.
Additionally, the sidewalk program has been handed off to Park Services and combined with the parks and civic properties snow program in an effort to “achieve higher efficiencies” when removing snow and ice from sidewalks.
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According to the report, staff say enhanced local forecasting of events has helped with better response planning and will continue throughout the winter.
Staff say the changes were made based on past performance reviews and an analysis of the response to a Feb. 27 weather event and will be incorporated into the current response plan.
“The city's weather response is guided by forecasts from Weathernet, a private third-party forecasting company,” the staff report says.
“This year, the city is augmenting the forecasting services by using an additional local forecasting company.”
Staff say this will help crews to better prepare an appropriate response.
For example, when an extreme weather pattern hits the region, the city will be hosting media availability to get the most accurate information to the community as well as twice-daily meetings with SD23, RCMP, FortisBC and BC Ambulance.
As always, the snow route parking bans will be activated in seven snow areas during extreme weather events.
The city says crews will transition to the new snow and ice dashboard that was introduced in 2021. It provides near real-time completion rates and other information.
The 2024 budget for snow and ice services is $2.8 million with the current cost at $1,700, which was used for the January to March response.
