(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

WEST KELOWNA – Residents of West Kelowna who live on low priority roads should not expect to see much plow activity over the next couple days.

With a full day of heavy snow and no end in sight, crews will be busy keeping the busiest and most important roadways clear. According to a media release from the City of West Kelowna, that means some neighborhoods won’t get any attention until the snow slows down.

“The top priority is clearing arterial and collector roads, transit routes and roads with steep grades,” city spokesperson Kirsten Jones says in the release. “The second priority is school zones, school bus routes, town centres and population centres and the final priority is all other local roads. During times of heavy and persistent snowfalls, road crews must continue to focus on higher priority roads in the municipality, which can lead to a delay in snow removal on local roads. Residents on priority three roads are asked to be patient, these roads will be visited by the plow once all other roadways have been cleared.”

Jones says the city has received several complaints from residents about plows pushing snow in front of driveways or on freshly shoveled sidewalks.

“The plow’s job is to keep the road clear and, without significant disruption in service, it is unable to avoid depositing snow in front of driveways or on sidewalks,” she says.

Residents can help crews by keeping vehicles off streets during snowfalls or clean up efforts. Residents are also asked to avoid clearing driveways and sidewalks onto plowed roads, to clear snow around fire hydrants and always shovel snow to the left side of the driveways (when facing the home).

“Parked cars mean plows must work around these vehicles and are unable to clear the road surface to a safe width, narrowing our roadways needlessly,” Jones says. “There is also additional time spent to maneuver around these vehicles rather than conducting one steady pass with the plow. Cul-de-sacs can become particularly challenging for plows when obstructions are encountered.”

For more information how to make snow removal efforts go quicker, visit the City of West Kelowna website.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2016