The cold front that blasted Maple Ridge on Sunday night was countered by five city trucks spreading salt on slippery roads that night, followed by another five salting and plowing vehicles that started at 4 a.m., Monday.
Mayor Michael Morden provided details of the city’s response Sunday on Facebook and asked motorists to be careful over the next 24 hours while staff try to catch up to the winter conditions.
Morden added that high winds, along with snowfall accumulation also downed powerlines.
More snow is expected for this week, Wednesday or Thursday, said the City of Maple Ridge’s Facebook page.
The city said that Sunday’s storm was the “worst kind of winter storm from a clean-up perspective,” because Saturday’s snow was followed by rain, followed by more snow.
It added that comments about Lougheed Highway conditions have been passed on to the province’s contractor.
“These specific weather conditions are very challenging and we are working hard to address the road conditions around the community,” said the city’s Facebook page.
The city said that motorists should have snow or all-weather tires and should drive with extreme caution.
The city also said residents shouldn’t toss snow on to the road when clearing their sidewalks.
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Maple Ridge has six prioritized routes for snow and ice control and the fleet is dispatched when a snowfall is more than five centimetres.
Arterial, collector and bus routes take priority over other areas.
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According to BC Hydro on Monday morning, there were no power outages in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows.
People in Silver Valley responded to the effects of snow and ice on the steep hills by helping each other out Sunday night.
Comments online showed that one couple in Silver Valley couldn’t get their car to move Sunday night, which led to a neighbour dropping them off at their house.
Another volunteered the use of his snow-tire equipped four-wheel drive for the suburb.
One resident on Glenhurst Stree,t however, said she’s never seen a snowplow on her street, while two others said the main roads didn’t seem to have been salted.
But crews were out on the roads all last night and continued on Monday, the city said.
Pitt Meadows communications manager Carolyn Baldridge said that the city’s four plowing and sanding trucks, along with a grader had cleared all the primary and secondary routes by Sunday night, adding that more snow is expected Monday night.
She reminded residents that sidewalks have to be shovelled by 10 a.m. the day after a snowfall and that neighbours can help out other neighbours who aren’t capable of clearing the snow.
The road to Golden Ears Provincial Park in Maple Ridge is closed until further notice.
#GoldenEars Park road will be closed until further notice due to snow/hazardous driving conditions. We’ll update as soon as the road re-opens.#BCStorm @NEWS1130Weather @cknw @GlobalBC @NEWS1130 @CTVVancouver
— Alouette Parks (@AlouetteParks) January 10, 2020
pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
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