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

Individual use sand

The City of Medicine Hat provides sand during the winter months for individual use on sidewalks bordering private properties. Sand is used to improve traction control, keeping residential sidewalks safe and accessible. 

This is a free service, but please note:

  • Supply is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and there’s no guarantee any will be available when you arrive.
  • Bring your own container and a shovel.
  • Limit your haul to one container per visit (up to five gallons).

Sand is available in five locations throughout the City:

  • 4 Avenue NE, behind Shamrock Bottle Depot (yellow box)
  • Big Marble Go Centre, north parking lot (yellow box)
  • Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede, parking lot west of Kinplex (yellow box)
  • Southlands Drive SE, near Chartwell Place SE (yellow box)
  • Municipal Works, 188 Kipling St SE, front parking lot (concrete holding structure)

These location can be found on the City's iMap.

View iMap

4 Ave NE sand box  Big Marble Go Centre sand box  Exhibition and Stampede Sandbox  Southlands Drive SE Sandbox   

City Staff monitor the locations and add material when required. If residents come across a location that is empty, they may report it to 403-529-8177. 

Contractors: Please note that this service is for individual use only.

Name the Fleet

The City conducted a Name the Fleet contest for the four graders and 11 sanders in the snow and ice control fleet, which took place from September 12 to November 1, 2024. Residents submitted 191 names and voted 842 times during the contest.

Look for the following winning names on these 15 pieces of equipment starting winter 2024 and beyond:

Graders
Snowbi Gone Kenobi Slim Gradey Taylor Drift Clearopathra

 

 Sanders
Darth Blader Ctrl-Salt-Delete Plowabunga Betty Whiteout
Colonel Sanders Blizzard Wizard Skip the Ditches Sir Sand-a-Lot
Sandosaurus Rex Fast and Flurryious Luke Snowalker