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
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.