Sunday’s snowfall caught the city of Coquitlam slightly off-guard requiring a quick call out to put more snow clearing equipment on the road.
“We’ve been busy, that’s for sure,” said Brad Lofgren, Coquitlam’s director of public works early Monday afternoon.
The initial forecast was for two to five centimetres, said Lofgren, “but obviously it was more than that. We were prepared for a smaller event and we had to call more staff in to put additional trucks on the road.
“We’re still out in full force, we’ve got all of our main roads done, and we’re working on side roads and local roads at this time. We’re also preparing for the event that’s forecasted to start at 5 o’clock this afternoon,” said Lofgren.
He added the city received calls on Sunday complaining local roads hadn’t been touched, but the city’s formal plan dictates major routes are a priority.
“As long as it is snowing, and is as intense as it was at that time [Sunday], we’ll be staying on the priority routes,” said Lofgren. “That will be the same this afternoon, as long as it’s snowing.”
He did, however, praise the public for how they are handling driving in the snow.
“Actually people are surprisingly cooperative, they’re slowing down and driving for conditions, which is good to see,” said Lofgren.
The cold snap also caused three watermain breaks in southwest Coquitlam, said Lofgren. It’s an older area that is susceptible to breaks because as the frost level gets keeper there is some inherent movement in the ground and pipes.
