Winter Maintenance

The Township of Springwater is responsible for maintaining public roads and sidewalks. We regularly monitor road conditions and weather throughout winter to help in their safe and timely maintenance.

Roads

We clear snow and ice from nearly 430 km of road and 25 km of sidewalk using standards set out in the Municipal Act. The County of Simcoe maintains County roads.

Clearance is prioritized based on road classification, speed and traffic volume:

Road type	Time to clear
Major collectors/bus routes (MMS 3)	12 hours, when snow reaches a depth of 8 cm
Residential streets (MMS 4)	16 hours, when snow reaches a depth of 8 cm
Cul-de-sac/minor residential (MMS 5)	24 hours, when snow reaches a depth of 10 cm

Maintenance crews begin clearing roads as soon as snow or ice reaches a level that requires removal. The Township does not have any MMS 1 or 2 classified roads.

How you can help

You can help keep plow operations safe and efficient by following these winter tips:

give snow plows plenty of space and never pass a working snow plow
keep cars off the street (even if it's not actively snowing)
always check winter and road conditions before heading out, and leave extra time if necessary
remove items such as bins, basketball nets, steel stakes and planters away from the edge of your driveway
do not blow or push snow onto or across the road in accordance with the Highway Traffic Act

Snow plowed from the road onto your property

Our plow operators try to push snow along the roadway as much as possible as they clear the street. Snow plowed onto your driveway from the road is called a windrow. It is your responsibility to clear windrows on your property.

Damage to property from a plow

A snow plow may damage property such as mailboxes. We document all damage and repair it as soon as possible.

Salting and sanding

We use a mix of 95% sand and 5% salt to limit environmental impact and treat icy roads in accordance with Ontario's Minimum Maintenance Standards:

MMS 3 roads: within 8 hours
MMS 4 roads: within 12 hours
MMS 5 roads: within 16 hours

Significant weather events

We may declare a significant weather event when current or forecasted conditions pose a serious risk to users of our roads and sidewalks. Declarations may be the result of:

Significant snow accumulation during a 24-hour period
High winds leading to blowing snow and large snow drifts
Freezing temperatures and ice formation that occurs without warning from the weather forecast

During significant weather events, roads and sidewalks are deemed in a state of repair until the declaration has ended. Read our Winter Operations Plan for more information.

Winter parking

To help snow removal, our Traffic and Parking By-Law prohibits parking on all municipal roads and parking lots between 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. from November 1 to March 31. Vehicles parked on our roads can be towed and or ticketed.