Winnipeg Street in Penticton was covered in snow on the evening of Jan. 2, 2022.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

For the past 16 years, Anita Reles has been a daily commuter from Summerland to Penticton, which are 17 kilometres apart. She says she noticed that AIM Roads – the regional snow removal contractor – has not been providing the same quality of maintenance along that stretch of Highway 97 this winter.

“This year, by far, they have not maintained it as well as other years,” she said.

Winter maintenance along Reles’ route was in steady decline for years before AIM took over the contract, and AIM is even worse than the previous company, she said.

On snowy days around 7 a.m., once Reles has arrived to her workplace in Penticton, she shares a detailed account of her drive that morning to local Facebook pages. She updates the public on specific sections of the highway, what kind of snow is covering the road, how slippery it is, and what speed she felt safe travelling at.

“I never liked hearing people just say ‘good’ or ‘bad’ when they’re asked how the roads are,” she said. “I like to give real details.”

Despite the dicey conditions and the lack of proper maintenance, Reles said she has not come across any accidents this winter.

A message left with AIM Roads was not returned.

She's not alone, though. Plenty of drivers have taken their concerns about roads maintenance in the City of Penticton to social media this winter.

December 2022 was Penticton’s snowiest month in at least 10 years, according to Canada Weather Stats and with temperatures dipping below -20 Celsius some days it was too cold to salt the roads.

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Within the City, the holiday season was a busy time for those responsible for plowing the snow, according to Penticton’s public works manager Len Robson.

Crews have been out every single day over the past couple weeks, he said.

“We had pretty extreme temperatures and higher-than-normal levels of snow.”

Even with those added challenges – as well as having to fix broken water main breaks – Robson said the City was mostly able to respond as planned, aside from fleet issues that have since been resolved.

The fleet includes five large snowplows, three smaller plows, two wheel loaders, a grader and four pieces of smaller snow equipment. There is also a team of shovelers.

Although some days were too cold to salt the roads, crews were still able to apply sand, Robson said.

This is the first winter the City has begun plowing bike lanes after opening 2.4 kilometres of the lake-to-lake bike route in 2021.

Robson said the City’s commitment to that bike lane has not resulted in slower service along other routes. On the contrary, he said walkways are cleared faster because the City purchased a new multi-faceted machine last year which can be used on both bike lanes and sidewalks while doing the job better and faster.

“This allows us to offer a way higher level of service than we could with a quad,” he said, adding that safety and comfort for the operator have increased tenfold.

Robson doesn’t know how many complaints came into the City during the holidays but says they are always received when there are heavy snowfalls. The number would probably be skewed anyway, he said, because most staffers were on holidays and extra steps were required to lodge a complaint on the after-hours line.

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If a member of the public reports a weather-related accident, the City will send staff down to assess whether or not that road needs extra attention.

But in most other cases, streets are plowed in order of priority, he said, regardless of complaints.

However Marianne Lund, who lives in a cul-de-sac in the Wiltse area of Penticton, said she called the City a few years ago to complain that the sidewalk wasn’t being cleared of snow along Dartmouth Drive, which has a large hill with no properties on it.

“Since then they’ve always been cleaning that one regularly,” she said. “I got results right away.”

Lund has been impressed by the City’s performance this winter. Her cul-de-sac has been getting plowed by a driver who has been doing a thorough job piling the snow up in the middle.

“The guy even got out and hand shovelled where he made a mound.”

Previous snow plow drivers would only leave a narrow path to follow which made it difficult to squeeze past parked cars, she said.

According to Penticton’s Snow and Ice Control Policy, removal takes places when 2.5 cm of snow has accumulated. It states that when snowplows leave windrows that cross lane entrances they are the responsibility of the City, but when they are left on private property they are the responsibility of the owner or occupant.

And according to the Good Neighbour Bylaw, residents who don’t have their sidewalks shovelled by 11 a.m. are subject to fines.

This map of Penticton shows how snow clearing is prioritized in each section of the city.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/City of Penticton

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