Snow Can Pose Safety Hazard

Watch where you shovel and keep your snow off the road, Department of Transportation and Public Works staff are warning.

Shovelling and plowing of driveways and grooming of snowmobile trails has resulted in snow being pushed onto roadways. The ridges of hardened snow that remain on the road create a hazard for the motoring public and plow operators.

"One of our graders recently hit a pile of snow and ice and spun its rear end into the opposite lane, so you can imagine what might happen to a car," said Mike Best, a maintenance supervisor with the Department. "It doesn't take much for even a little snow and ice to freeze and become like concrete."

The department is asking private operators, residents and snowmobile club groomers to avoid putting snow on the roadway.

It is also illegal under the Public Highways Act to place an obstruction on the road, and snow is considered an obstruction.