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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.