Snow and Ice Control

The snow and ice control program is an essential service to permit safe and efficient travel for vehicles during winter months.

View priority routes

Priorities

In a typical 5 to 10 cm snowfall, the City addresses roads as follows:

Category 1: within 24 hours of the end of snowfall
  • Emergency routes (hospital, ambulance, police fire)
  • Arterial roadways
  • Hills and bridges
  • Highways (Holsom Road and Highway 41A)
Category 2: within 24 hours after Category 1 completion
  • Collector roadways
  • School zones
  • Transit bus routes
  • Central business district (downtown)
Category 3: no prescribed timeframe
  • Residential roads
  • Lanes and alleys

We ensure Category 3 roads are passable for emergency response vehicles.

During blizzards or long, continuous snowfalls, Category 1 routes may be cleared many times before Category 2 routes begin.

We clear sidewalks next to city land within 24 hours according to the Public Roads Bylaw #4346.

Snow removal

Snow removed from roads is taken to one of Medicine Hat's approved and regulated snow storage sites. These facilities are governed by provincial and federal environmental regulations. We perform regular testing and monitoring to ensure adherence to the provincial guidelines.

Residential streets

Residential streets have driveways and on-street parking, leaving limited space to store snow. The City uses sand and flat-blading as best we can to ensure safety. Remember, snow plowing (pushing snow) is different than snow removal (hauling snow away).

Materials

We use the following materials on our roads:

  • Sand/chips
  • Liquid de-icing chemical
  • Fine road salt