With snow on the ground in Penticton and below-zero temperatures expected to stick around until at least Friday, the city is asking drivers to slow down for the anticipated icy conditions.
The city says a full fleet of crews has been working on clearing the roads, following Sunday’s and Monday’s snowfall.
But due to some melting and continued below-freezing temperatures, city crews say the time is now to prepare for winter-like conditions on the road.
In a press release on Tuesday, Nov. 8, the city said crews have spent the beginning of this week clearing “priority No. 1 and 2 roads,” including main routes, hilly terrain, school zones, roads serving emergency routes to hospitals and major transit routes.
As part of its warning, the city is asking drivers to take care and consideration when approaching or passing snow-clearing vehicles.
When not on the roads for the rest of this week, though, the city is asking residents to also be mindful of the following:
• Stay home if you don’t have to travel
• Remember when shovelling your driveway to pile the snow on the left side of the driveway (facing the property)
• Remove cars off of the street so plows can work more efficiently and clear the entire roadway
• Clear all sidewalks adjacent to your property before 11 a.m., the following day after the snowfall, per the Good Neighbour Bylaw
• Clear the snow away from fire hydrants for easy access by firefighters
The city’s public works team was busy all weekend, following a series of winter blasts starting on Thursday night.
Strong winds on Friday resulted in power outages across the region and fallen trees across the city.
Environment Canada expects conditions to clear by Tuesday night, with temperatures expected to drop to as low as -5 C.
READ MORE: Penticton crews kept busy by wind, snow, fallen trees and even flooding