Rising temperatures could add to Penticton’s cleanup woes

POTENTIAL FLOODING FROM SNOW MELT A WORRY

PENTICTON – Driving around Penticton Monday afternoon two actions appeared to be common place on just about every street throughout the city – residents pushing stuck vehicles and those shovelling snow.

By mid-afternoon snowfall was diminishing and temperatures were rising. That could be good and bad news for the city public works department, already reeling from two days of heavy snowfall.

“The public works department is concerned about the forecast, which is calling for a warming trend. They have been doing their best to ensure storm drains are clear and free, but they are also still trying to catch up with this snowfall. If all this snow melts, there could be some problems, according to city communications officer Simone Blais.

“At least I haven’t heard of any power outages in the city,” she added.

Blais said the city is required to have priority two roads plower within 48 hours of a storm ending. In many parts of the city the work crews have not yet had time to work residential streets, but, as Blais observed, “the storm is ongoing.”

She also noted city emergency services were reporting “nothing out of the ordinary” in terms of motor vehicle accidents or medical assist calls.

“It’s important for residents to realize their physical limitations when it comes to shovelling. If you’re not comfortable leaving your house in weather conditions like we’ve been experiencing, it’s a good idea not to.”

Blais said the city’s reception desk was busy with calls Monday as many residents experienced the frustration of not being able to move freely about the city.

“I think people are not seeing the plows as frequently as they are used to. Our work crews have been busy mostly with priority one routes."

"We really appreciate people’s patience as we try and deal with what is really an unprecedented amount of snow for the city. We’re doing the best we can with what Old Man Winter is throwing at us,” she said.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.