Close Alert Banner
Skip to Content
  • myStratford

City of Stratford Logo

Contact Us
  • Visit Us
    • Parking
    • Public Restrooms
    • Destination Stratford
  • Live Here
    • Applications, Licenses & Permits
    • Britannia Street Housing Project
    • Cemetery
    • Children's Resources
    • Climate Change
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • EarlyON Perth County
    • Education
    • Emergency Services
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Garbage Collection
    • Heritage Stratford
    • Library
    • Maps
    • Parking
    • Pet Ownership
    • Property Taxes
    • Public Health
    • Social Services
    • Stratford Naturally
    • Stratford Police Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
    • Wastewater
    • Water
    • Wildlife
    • Senior's Resources
  • Play Here
    • Community Organizations
    • COVID-19 Return to Activity
    • Digital Advertising
    • Facilities
    • Parks & Forestry
    • Recreation Programs
    • Register for Programs
    • Sports Wall of Fame
    • Upcoming Events
  • Do Business
    • investStratford
    • Available Properties
    • Bids and Tenders
    • Business Licensing
    • Community Profile
    • Our Industries
    • Stratford Perth Centre for Business
  • Inside City Hall
    • A to Z Services
    • Accountability and Transparency
    • Accessibility
    • Advisory Committees
    • Animal Control
    • Applications, Licenses & Permits
    • Awards
    • Bid Opportunities
    • Budget
    • By-laws
    • City Council
    • Contact Us
    • Cooper Block
    • Departments
    • Employment
    • Market Square
    • Mayor
    • Municipal Accommodation Tax
    • Municipal Elections
    • News & Public Notices
    • Other Reports & Publications
    • Privacy Statement
    • Proposed Municipal Boundary Adjustment
    • Strategic Priorities
    • Terms of Use
    • Tom Patterson Theatre
    • Website Feedback
Home...Infrastructure & Development ServicesPublic WorksWinter Maintenance

Winter Maintenance

  • Open new window to share this page via Facebook Facebook
  • Open new window to share this page via Twitter Twitter
  • Open new window to share this page via Pinterest Pinterest
  • Open new window to share this page via LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Email this page Email

Inside City Hall

Winter Maintenance Banner

Winter is here, and the City of Stratford has a winter maintenance strategy in place that focuses on safety and mobility for both motorists and pedestrians.

Here are some of the tools used by the Public Works division to help carry out that strategy on the rougly 200 kilometres of roads and sidewalks in Stratford:

  •  3 combination plow/sander units (2 side discharge, 1 dual spinner)
  •  2 articulated loaders with plow and wing attachment
  •  1 articulated loader with one-way blade
  •  1 Kubota tractor with blade and box scraper – this will be used for Market Square, City parking lots and multi-use paths. Special composite blades will be used when clearing Market Square to help protect the brickwork
  •  6 articulated sidewalk machines – able to plow and treat the sidewalk at the same time, with blower attachments used during heavier winter events
  •  2 road sanders, for the core area and City parking lots, and to treat roadways behind the loaders and grader
  • Snow blower attachment for front end loader, used to cut back snowbanks on city streets
  •  Rental grader with a wing, and 4 standby rental graders if needed
  •  Contractor dump trucks on stand-by, for hauling snow from core area, City parking lots
  •  Rental snow blower for loading trucks in the core
  • Shovels, which City employees use to hand shovel and salt all corners in the core area
  •  Walk-behind snow blower for heavy events

 

Winter Equipment

 


 

The Public Works division takes a proactive approach to winter maintenance:

  • weather information is tracked and recorded several times a day
  • road inspections are conducted every four hours through the winter months
  • anti-icing measures may be applied in anticipation of a winter event, with a sodium chloride mix used to prevent the accumulation of snow and ice on City streets

Sand and salt are also used to treat streets and sidewalks, with the sand/salt ratio adjusted depending on air and road temperatures.

Following a winter event (snowfall), the Public Works division focuses on Stratford’s most heavily used streets first, and pays particular attention to clearing roads and sidewalks in hospital and school areas and bus routes.

Please remember:

  • there is No Overnight Parking on City streets or shoulders from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.
  • during a snow event, when daytime plowing is needed, avoid leaving vehicles parked on the street
  • avoid shoveling or blowing snow from driveways into city streets and sidewalks, as this creates a hazard for motorists and pedestrians.

This map of our snow plow routes gives an overview of the priority given to each of the streets in Stratford during a winter event.

Snow Plow Map    Snow Plow Routes -Sidewalk


FAQs

Here are a few frequently asked questions about Stratford’s winter maintenance program:

How long does it take to clear all the roads in Stratford?

It depends on how much snow is falling. If snow starts and stops, then a typical rotation through the City takes between 18 and 24 hours to plow all 180 kilometres of roadway. If snow continues, then the primary roads will be plowed again prior to the residential streets. During some winter events, plowing continues for several days using City and contract equipment.

Why does my neighbour’s street get plowed before mine every time?
There are several classifications of roads in the City based on the amount of traffic on them and the speed of the traffic. Other factors including bus routes, school, and hospital areas dictate road classification. Plow operators are given beats that show them what to plow first and what to plow after that. If you live on a cul-de-sac with a low volume of slow traffic, your street will be plowed, but not before the larger streets with higher volumes of traffic using them. 
Why do the plows go by 2 or 3 times during some winter snows?
When there is significant snow or drifting snow, the large plows will clear snow from local roadways and highways. Although this operation removes the snow quickly from the travelled portion of the road, a follow up plowing occurs in order to push snow back as far as possible to provide storage space for the next snowfall. This is best accomplished with a second push at the snow bank. A second reason for the follow up plowing is to attempt to expose catch basins which are essential for allowing melting snow and potential rainfall to drain off the street. 
Why do you plow in my driveway?

In order to clear snow from the roadway, property frontages and driveways will receive a “grader ridge” as plows pass by. If City crews attempted to clear entrances during roadway plowing operations, the process would become very time consuming and very expensive.

You plowed around my car and I couldn’t move it after you went by. Will you come and dig it out?
Cars parked on the roadway in the winter can stop plows and sanders from being able to go down your street. If the plow can go around, it will, and it will leave a ridge around the car. We are unable to dig out these cars and ask that everyone make every effort to keep cars off roadways and cul-de-sac islands in the winter. 
The sidewalk plow ripped up my lawn. What can I do?
If you see that a road plow or a sidewalk plow has damaged your lawn you can call Public Works at 519-271-0250 ext. 259 and give your name and address. In order to ensure that all repairs are completed in a timely manner, the deadline for reporting sod damage is June 1. The damage will be noted and your address kept for repair in the spring. To assist in unnecessary repairs, ensure that the sod is not lawn overgrowth on the sidewalk, and is in fact repairable.
  • Departments
    Toggle Section Departments Menu
    • CAO & Mayor's Office
      Toggle Section CAO & Mayor's Office Menu
      • Chief Administrative Office
      • Mayor's Office
        Toggle Section Mayor's Office Menu
        • Requests and Invitations
          Toggle Section Requests and Invitations Menu
          • Request a Certificate
          • Request City Pins
    • Community Services
    • Corporate Services
      Toggle Section Corporate Services Menu
      • Clerks
        Toggle Section Clerks Menu
        • Access to Information
        • Busking
        • Commissioner of Oaths
        • Crossing Guards
        • Retail Business Holiday Act
      • Information Technology Services
      • Finance
        Toggle Section Finance Menu
        • Asset Management
        • Finance Reports
        • Payroll
        • Purchasing
        • Revenues and Taxation
    • Infrastructure & Development Services
      Toggle Section Infrastructure & Development Services Menu
      • Building
      • Planning
      • Development Engineering
      • Municipal By-law Enforcement
      • Engineering
      • Public Works
        Toggle Section Public Works Menu
        • Winter Maintenance
      • Water
    • Fire Department
    • Human Resources
      Toggle Section Human Resources Menu
      • Collective Agreements
      • Employment Opportunities
    • Social Services
      Toggle Section Social Services Menu
      • Anne Hathaway Daycare
      • Children’s Services
      • Homelessness
      • Housing
        Toggle Section Housing Menu
        • Housing Access Centre
        • Perth and Stratford Housing Corporation
      • Ontario Works
  • View Full Inside City Hall Menu
    Toggle Section
    • A to Z Services
      Toggle Section A to Z Services Menu
      • E-Services
    • Accountability and Transparency
    • Accessibility
      Toggle Section Accessibility Menu
      • Accessibility Advisory Committee
    • Advisory Committees
      Toggle Section Advisory Committees Menu
      • Accessibility Advisory Committee
      • Active Transportation Advisory Committee
      • Ad Hoc Transit Committee
      • Board of Park Management
      • Committee of Adjustment
      • Communities in Bloom Committee
      • Downtown Stratford Business Improvement Area Board of Management
      • Energy and Environment Committee
      • Heritage Stratford Committee
      • Sports Wall of Fame Committee
      • Spruce Lodge Non-Profit Housing Corporation
      • Stratfords of the World
      • Stratford Police Services Board
      • Stratford Public Library Board
      • Stratford Town And Gown Advisory Committee
      • Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
    • Animal Control
    • Applications, Licenses & Permits
      Toggle Section Applications, Licenses & Permits Menu
      • Bicycle Licensing
      • Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates and Change of Name
      • Business Licence
      • Encroachments
      • Lottery Licensing
      • Marriage and Civil Ceremonies
      • Pet Ownership
      • Special Events and Municipal Alcohol Policy
      • Outdoor Special Events
    • Awards
      Toggle Section Awards Menu
      • Bronze Star Recognition Program
      • City Council Annual Recognition Awards
      • Community Leadership Awards
      • Heritage Community Recognition Award
      • June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award
      • Leading Girls Building Communities Recognition Program
      • Leading Women Building Communities Recognition Program
      • Lincoln Alexander Award
      • Long-Standing Service Program
      • Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship
      • Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers
      • Ontario Newcomer Champion Award
      • Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism
      • Senior Achievement Award
      • Senior of the Year Award
      • Volunteer Service Award Program
      • Young Heritage Leaders Award
    • Bid Opportunities
    • Budget
      Toggle Section Budget Menu
      • 2012 Budget
      • 2012 Budget Documents
      • 2013 Budget
      • 2013 Budget Documents
      • 2014 Budget
      • 2014 Budget Documents
      • 2015 Budget
      • 2015 Budget Documents
      • 2016 Budget
      • 2016 Budget Documents
      • 2017 Budget
      • 2017 Budget Documents
      • 2018 Budget
      • 2019 Budget
      • 2020 Budget
      • 2021 Budget
      • 2022 Budget
      • 2023 Budget
    • By-laws
      Toggle Section By-laws Menu
      • Commonly Asked About By-laws
      • Smoking In Public Places
    • City Council
      Toggle Section City Council Menu
      • Agendas, Meetings & Minutes
      • Council Calendar
      • Declaration of Pecuniary Interest Registry
      • Appearing as a Delegation
      • City Council Contact
      • Collecting Personal Information
      • Community Services Sub-committee
      • Finance and Labour Relations Sub-committee
      • Planning and Heritage Sub-committee
      • Infrastructure, Transportation and Safety Sub-committee
      • Social Services Sub-committee
    • Contact Us
    • Cooper Block
    • Employment
      Toggle Section Employment Menu
      • Recreation Program Employment
    • Market Square
    • Mayor
      Toggle Section Mayor Menu
      • Requests and Invitations
    • Municipal Accommodation Tax
    • Municipal Elections
    • News & Public Notices
      Toggle Section News & Public Notices Menu
      • News
      • Public Notices
      • Town Crier
    • Other Reports & Publications
    • Privacy Statement
    • Proposed Municipal Boundary Adjustment
    • Strategic Priorities
    • Terms of Use
    • Tom Patterson Theatre
    • Website Feedback

Contact Us

Subscribe to page updates

Stratford logo

  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
  • Employment
  • Website Feedback
  • Privacy Statement

© 2019 The Corporation of the City of Stratford, P.O. Box 818, Stratford, Ontario, N5A 6W1, 519-271-0250

View our Facebook Page View our Twitter Page View our LinkedIn Page
Designed by eSolutionsGroup
Close Old Browser Notification
Browser Compatibility Notification
It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.