Delta drivers fared better in this year’s snow, compared to the snowmaggeddon event from Nov. 29, 2022.
Police are saying that everyone did better this year, thanks largely to the timing of the snowfall, which fell overnight and early in the morning on Jan. 17.
“We were fortunate with the timing of it,” said A/Insp. James Sandberg, public affairs manager for Delta Police. “It could have been in the afternoon and if everybody had gone to work … then couldn’t get home, we would have been in chaos,” he said.
That meant fewer unprepared vehicles on the road, which meant there weren’t blocked roads or icy patches made by spinning tires.
DPD also adjusted their shift schedules so an extra eight officers were available and also put a major focus on helping the RCMP’s BC Highway Patrol keep traffic flowing on the Alex Fraser Bridge. A heavy wrecker also was on standby in the area.
Police and public works crews also coordinated their response to bad stretches of road.
“In optimizing our response to the recent snow event, the strategic coordination between road crews and the Delta Police proved instrumental in maintaining operational efficiency,” Sandberg said.
Residents also did their part by staying off the roads, he said.
“The decision of unprepared drivers to stay off the roads facilitated enhanced responsiveness, allowing the plows and clearing equipment to manoeuvre swiftly,” Sandberg said. “Community cooperation played a crucial role in minimizing the negative impacts of the snow, allowing us to respond more effectively and ensure the safety of our community. Together, we weathered the storm with resilience and solidarity.”
According to Environment Canada, 15 centimetres of snow fell on Jan. 16 with another 10 cm on Jan. 17 and another six cm on Jan. 18, at the Tsawwassen Beach station.
The week before, during the cold snap, temperatures dropped to the lowest point of the month, dipping to -12 C, on Jan. 12.
Steven Lan, City of Delta’s general manager of engineering, said that based on comments on social media, most people were happy with the city’s response.
Fairly accurate weather forecasts this time around allowed the city to brine priority routes in advance and to schedule a full deployment of machinery when the snowfall started, Lan said.
“Given the extensive snowfall on multiple days, the city engaged in a 24/7 response with all available snow-clearing equipment being used throughout the event. The focus was on priority routes to ensure key corridors were accessible to emergency responders, transit, and the public,” he said by email.
The city was able to do so with basically the same complement of equipment as last year, with only one single-axel truck being replaced by a tandem-axel truck.
Ramped up communications also helped, with the city posting three to four updates daily about snow removal, garbage pickup and facility operations.
The city’s website, Delta.ca also had daily news posts about weather-related topics such as program cancellation, school closures and info about extreme weather shelters.
Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting is responsible for maintaining Hwys. 99, 17 and 17A, through Delta, as well as the Alex Fraser Bridge.
- The City of Delta’s snow clearing fleet includes:
- 10 tandem axle dump trucks with plows and salters (dedicated to priority routes)
- Six two-ton dump trucks with plows and salters (dedicated to civic facilities and residential areas)
- Two brine trucks (dedicated to priority routes)
- Three skid steers (assist with parking lots)
- Five Ventrac mowers converted to plows (assist with parking lots and sidewalks)
- Nine snow blowers - All available staff not required for regular maintenance or emergencies worked to clear bus stops, overpasses, wheelchair letdowns and pathways.
