As fast as the white stuff falls to the ground, snow removal crews are busy and hard at work, getting it off the ground, or at least moving it to make roads and streets passable.
Rimbey public works department is no exception.
But with the amount of snow that has fallen in the last week or so, keeping up is extremely difficult.
“It seems like we are about a day behind,” said public works director Rick Schmidt. “We are certainly keeping our noses to the grindstone.”
Schmidt took a few moments to chat on the phone Thursday, although crews were waiting, and not so patiently, for him to get back on the snow plough.
The snow that came down last Wednesday and Thursday, following on the heels of the previous dump has left Rimbey and, indeed, all of central Alberta with more than their fair share of the white stuff.
“We had about 85 per cent of the town done before this last big dump came,” said Schmidt. “We didn’t quite have the residential area done.”
Public works crews work early in the morning or late at night to complete snow removal if necessary.
“We do the business area and the school area first,” said Schmidt. “That’s our priority.”
Snow is graded and then hauled away where it remains in temporary storage at the public works yard.
The crews try to remove the majority of the windrows left in driveways.
Keeping up with excessive amounts of snow is not an easy task and Schmidt asks residents to be patient.
“Removing garbage cans and extension cords is helpful,” he said, adding that some town employees are fairly new and are in the process of training.
Business owners are responsible for clearing their own sidewalks.
Public works clears sidewalks near the school and the manor and around the RCMP station.
In late February or early March and in December (before Christmas) all the snow is removed from the streets.
The cost for snow removal is included in the road work budget, Schmidt said.