The District of Saanich usually experiences at least one snowfall each year. Although the snow is usually short lived, if walkways and sidewalks are not shoveled in a timely manner, snow compacted by pedestrians can remain on the ground longer than the snow itself and cause difficult conditions for people using them.

Did you know it is the responsibility of all property owners and occupants to clear and remove snow and ice from Municipal sidewalks?  That means when it snows, we are challenged to locate our snow boots and shovels, and dig out our driveways and sidewalks. Fulfilling your responsibilities can improve the quality of life for all residents of Saanich and reduce injuries caused by slips and falls.

Road Safety & Clearing

Public Works makes use of Environmental Canada and meteorological services to monitor and predict when cold weather is coming 24/7. When cold weather is predicted our crews are out pre-treating roads with de-icing brine. We are responsible for keeping over 600 km of roads safe, which means we need to prioritize. When snowfall is likely, our first priorities are:

• Major and collector streets consisting of high volume roads and streets that connect us to our transportation system.
• Examples of major streets include McKenzie, Quadra, Shelbourne and Cedar Hill
• Examples of collectors include North Dairy, Feltham and Reynolds
• Designated BC Transit bus routes.
• Pre-identified steep hills. We attempt to get to these within 24 hours of a heavy snowfall.

Snow plowing priority routes will continue as long as adverse weather conditions exist. Once these routes remain safe and passable, we then start on our lower traffic volume minor collector roads and residential streets.

 Please direct inquires to Public Works at 250-475-5599, 24/7 service.