City crews working around the clock to remove snow
Ottawa is grappling with a lot of snow this winter and the city is working hard to keep up with removing it all.
Snowbanks are at an all-time high, but most Ottawa residents commend the city crews for their hard work.
"The snowbank height, this is pretty high this year. It's not usually like that," said local resident Marc Desjardins.
Roads in some neighbourhoods has been reduced to one lane because of snow accumulation, causing traffic nightmares. However, residents understand that the city has to prioritize clearing the main thoroughfares first.
City crews have been working around the clock to remove the massive snowbanks on residential streets.
"It's January, we're getting snow, but they're doing a good job cleaning it," said Central Park resident Leanne Bennett. "They've been up and down a few hours now. And they've cleared everything."
However, the city has not been able to clear the snowbanks any quicker due to winter storms.
"Typically, a full removal operation takes about two weeks to complete," said Bryden Denyes, the City of Ottawa's area manager for urban roads. "When we're doing snow removal operations and we have a winter storm, whether it's snow or freezing rain, we have to pause our snow removal operations and then move into storm treatment."
Last year, Ottawa got 105 centimetres of snow by this point in the winter. This year, it's almost double with 205 centimetres falling since Nov. 1.
Residents are reminded not to park during snowbank removal, as they risk being towed.
Norma Viau, another Central Park resident, expressed concern about the high snowbanks and said, "The accumulation of the high snowbanks, it's dangerous. When you turn you can’t see the car coming."
The City of Ottawa spends $82 million for winter operations, and this snowy winter of 2023 will test the budget's limits.
"I think they do a great job," said resident Robert Dehartoj. "I've been here most of my life and there's snow and there's been lots of it and sometimes there's not. I think they're doing as much as they can."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Some customers steaming after McDonald's ends free hot drink sticker program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When new leaders took over in ancient Maya, they didn't just bury the former royals. They burned their bodies in public
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Party's over: Coyotes play final game as Arizona franchise before move to Salt Lake City
Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the two years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah.