The first residential plow under the new snow and ice program will begin this week as the City has reached the new trigger of 10cm snowpack.

Plowing will be scheduled and announced by snow zone, identified by letters A-K, and by coloured Route (Green and Grey).

The tentative residential plowing schedule for this week is as follows:

· Zone D (Downtown) Green Routes – Dec. 3rd and Dec. 4th between 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

· Zone A Green Routes – Dec. 3rd between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

· Zone A Grey Routes – Dec. 4th between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

· Zone B Green Routes – Dec. 4th between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Plowing will continue to be scheduled and announced by snow zone over the next 20 days.

“So far this winter, Purple and Red Routes have been triggered and plowed, but residents will see the biggest change under the new program now that Green and Grey Routes have been triggered,” said Elaine Vincent, director of Development Services. “We need residents to partner with us by knowing their Snow Zone and moving their cars from streets when their Snow Zone is being plowed.”

There are a number of ways residents can find out when plowing will occur in their Snow Zone, including:

· Check the up to date map and schedule at www.reddeer.ca/snowzone.

· Sign up for snow zone specific alerts at www.reddeer.ca/alerts. Emails will be sent one to two days in advance of a snow zone being plowed.

· Follow the City of Red Deer on facebook and Twitter.

· Call the Snow Zone Hotline at 403-406-8796.

On Green Routes there will be ‘No Parking’ signs on the streets. For Grey Routes, there will be signs at the entrances to neighbourhoods indicating when plowing is taking place.

Snow will be removed from Green Routes, meaning there will not be windrows. On Grey Routes, windrows will be left on both sides of the street, and residents are responsible for clearing windrows from their driveway.

“We understand that windrows can be an inconvenience, but it is our hope that with the increased frequency of plowing, windrows will be smaller and more manageable following each plow,” said Vincent. “We also encourage residents to lend a helping hand to others by being a Snow Buddy – it’s as easy as shoveling someone’s driveway, offering someone a ride or reminding others when to move their car off the street.”

Residents can also hire a private contractor to remove the windrow from their driveway or the street, as long as they hold a valid Use of Streets permit. A list of these contractors is available at www.reddeer.ca/snowzone.

For more information about the new snow and ice program, visit www.reddeer.ca/snowzone.

– Fawcett