(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Snowy Conditions

P.A. road crews fixing issues caused by warm weather, local tower “appalled” with city’s plans

Jan 17, 2022 | 5:05 PM

The recent warm spell that hit Prince Albert over the weekend caused more harm than good for road crews.

That’s according to Geoff Soderberg, Roadways Manager for the city of P.A.

He told paNOW many would believe the main issue would be slippery conditions, however, this isn’t the case.

“Ice-wise, it’s been pretty quiet. We do have sanders out patrolling and putting out sand, so it’s been pretty good that way.”

Soderberg adds the weather didn’t clear up all of the snow left on roads. Instead, it weakened it which has caused rough driving conditions.

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Unfortunately, it’s not an easy fix.

“It would be more so leveling the road; we can’t really plow to the sides as we’ll eliminate the road as we only have so much storage area.”

Crews are currently working on leveling this snow as they don’t have the space to pile more snow or the funds to remove it.

Furious Over City’s Plan

A local tow truck operator is calling out the city’s plan for dealing with all the extra snow.

Danny Goodwin, the owner of Gateway North Towing, believes the snow being left on the roads is creating problems with traction and, in some cases, causing some drivers to get stuck.

All-day Monday, he claimed his company had been getting calls non-stop from people stuck on side streets.

More importantly, Goodwin said the snow piles being left on the side of roads are major safety concerns.

“There are intersections in town where you can’t even see someone pulling out and that results in a T-bone accident and possibly somebody losing their life.”

Goodwin also isn’t a fan of the city’s claim they don’t have the funds to clear all the snow.

Last week, Mayor Greg Dionne explained Prince Albert has received a large amount of snow so far this winter and the city can’t afford to remove it all. That’s why crews have been piling it along the sides of roads.

They are removing snow from downtown as they don’t have anywhere else to put it.

Goodwin simply called the plan “appalling.”

“The tax increases we’ve got in the last five years, and you want to tell me there’s no money to remove snow, but yet at the same time they increase the police budget every year.”

The city does have a snow management reserve, set up back in 2014, aimed at helping with future funding problems. At the end of 2020, it had a deficit of over $615,000.

During budget deliberations, it was mentioned that funds were taken out to cover other needs besides snow removal.

City council did ask for a review with plans on ensuring the reserve is only used on snow management moving forward.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow