Higher than anticipated snowfall has put a strain on Coquitlam’s extreme weather operating budget and more money could be needed if winter comes early this year.
In 2020 so far, $1 million of the $1.2 million allocated for snow and ice removal has been spent, putting the city within $200,000 of going over budget for the fifth year in a row. The narrow funding gap prompted council to approve an $800,000 transfer from the infrastructure reserve to cover a potential shortfall.
“As in recent past seasons, the first portion of the 2019/20 winter season was quite mild,” according to a staff report. “However, that changed in early January with arctic air moving into the Lower Mainland.”
Five major snow events occurred between January 9 and February 5, with a prolonged cold snap in mid-January preventing snow from melting, which resulted in greater accumulation.
Since the record-breaking winter of 2016/’17, the engineering and public works department has made improvements to its snow and ice removal efforts.
New equipment and several smaller vehicles has allowed staff to clear more lanes, enabling consistent garbage collection, while operational changes have been made to the dispatching system.
The staff report noted that a pilot program increasing parking restrictions during snowfall on upper Westwood Plateau made it easier to clear streets.
The success of the initiative led to requests for similar rules from residents in other parts of the city, including Corona Crescent north of Oneida Drive, Hamber Court west of Dayton Street and Pritchett Place west of Dayton Street. Staff said they will look at implementing no parking restrictions on one side of the selected streets, which would only be activated during snowfalls.
But keeping streets clear has been costly.
In 2019, the city’s extreme weather operating budget totalled more than $1.8 million, $800,000 more than the $1 million that was allocated. The city was $400,000 over budget in 2018 and close to $1.2 million over in 2017.
