Hoping to pre-empt the phone calls received at the township office every time the snow flies, Wellesley councillors want to spread the word about just why residents see plows out on the roads.
“We’re getting close to the winter and I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to have somebody to fill us in a little bit about the snow removal: what our criteria are and what the law dictates,” said Coun. Herb Neher as councillors met October 7 in Crosshill.
“There are a lot of people out there that don’t have a clue. You get people talking about trucks going out there when there’s only a half an inch [of snow] on the road and these people really don’t understand that there is a provincial mandate on that and there are other reasons for these trucks being out there.”
His request was echoed by Coun. Jim Olender, who also cited the calls he receives every winter from residents inquiring about the presence of plows on what seem like clear roads.
“I think it would be great because we’d have an answer for when people call,” Olender said of the need for more information.
The lack of clarity is causing some misconceptions among residents who tend to assume that workers are plowing clear roads in order to receive overtime pay. Some simply wonder why crews are in the area.
Neher said most of the assumptions are incorrect.
Councillors asked chief administrative officer Willis McLaughlin to look into providing some more information to the public about the reasons plows are operational when there seems to be little snow on the ground.
“What we’d like to do in addition to that is take a councillor out for a ride in a snowplow to show what we actually do,” replied McLaughlin. “A picture is worth a thousand words. Why is the plow out? Because it’s needed.”
Due to the township’s largely open terrain and expanses of fields, snow is often blown off the road in one area while several inches of snow collects in another, leaving the illusion of clear roads for some residents. Ice on roadways not always apparent to the naked eye is also a concern, said Neher, suggesting the information be published on the township website.
McLaughlin maintained that dispatching plows is always a safety measure. Township staff will work on collecting some facts for residents.
“The reality is that we have to make it safe for the travelling public no matter what. It could be our wives and kids out there on a slippery road.”
