Russell Baker, director of media relations with the City of Toronto shares the city’s plans to respond to the storm and why snow clearing operations take time.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says she called the province for help to clear the snow left behind from last month’s record storm so city crews can prioritize residential streets and intersections.

“Here’s something new. I phoned up the province, the Ministry of Transportation, and said, ‘Hey, you signed a contract that will shovel snow and remove snow in 2021…the city wasn’t as smart,“ Chow said at an unrelated news conference earlier this week.”

“We are only clearing the snow and not removing the snow.”

City crews began plowing the snow off main streets and highways as soon as it started falling on Jan. 25. Some parts of the city saw nearly 60 centimetres of accumulation by day’s end.

Snow removal efforts, including physically moving it to dump sites and melting it, began last week, but some arterial streets and sidewalks are still covered.

The city says the crews from the province are focusing on the residual snow banks left on the Gardiner and DVP to help free up its own workers to prioritize residential streets and intersections with reduced visibility.

“Crews started working Saturday night and will work continuously overnight until snow is removed from the shoulders of the Gardiner and DVP. As of early this (Tuesday) morning, the provincial contractors have removed 200 loads of snow,” a spokesperson for the city said in an email.

It’s unclear how much the ad-hoc contract will cost the city, but the mayor’s office said the maximum spend is up to $950,000.

311 calls for service continuing to decline

Last week, City Manager Paul Johnson said Toronto’s 311 line was inundated with requests for service, primarily for sidewalk clearing.

“Clearly, there’s a gap in our performance around sidewalks,” Johnson said at the time.

Since then, the city says it has removed 150,000 tonnes of snow and 311 call volumes are continuing to decline.

The city said that crews are working around the clock to haul away the remaining snow and that inspectors will be flagging sidewalks and bike lanes that need additional plowing or salting. Residents are asked to report problem areas to 311.

The city declared a Major Snowstorm Condition and Significant Weather Event on Jan. 25, which remains in effect. Parking on streets marked as snow routes remains prohibited.

Residents can track the city’s snow plows here.