Mayor John Tory says cleanup after Toronto snowstorm is going to take days
Toronto is in full-on recovery mode after being completely walloped by a historic winter storm that shuttered businesses, stalled public transit and air travel, and left roads an absolute mess, and according to the Mayor John Tory, things aren't going to be back to normal for at least a few days.
The city declared a "major snowstorm condition" Monday evening due to the mess, with Tory telling CTV News that he thinks the cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the blizzard will take more than 72 hours to complete.
Under the new alert — which is issued when there is substantial snowfall during a short period of time — snow removal is a top priority, meaning that vehicles parked on sidestreets may be towed out of the way, and parking on snow route roads is prohibited and will lead to fines.
The mayor and his team continue to recommend that residents stay home and off the roads unless absolutely necessary, and warn of extended treacherous conditions for both drivers and pedestrians.
Given the amount of snow, @CityofToronto has declared this a major snow storm condition. This will help snow removal operations once snow plowing is complete. For this effort, the City has deployed:
— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 17, 2022
❄️600 road plows
❄️200 salt trucks
❄️360 sidewalk plowshttps://t.co/21NdxgV8ll pic.twitter.com/6tHqyX7jNx
Not only is there still a significant amount of the white stuff covering roadways and sidewalks, but the fleet of plows doing their work in the coming days may also cause obstructions and slow things down big time.
"Road users should expect delays, slippery conditions and poor visibility. If driving, slow down, follow at a safe distance, and use gentle braking, steering and acceleration," the city says in a release.
"Also keep a safe distance from snow clearing vehicles, be patient and give city crews room to make our roads and sidewalks safe and accessible."
Toronto saw a whopping 8 to 10 cm per hour during the peak of the storm yesterday morning, with accumulation reaching nearly 40 cm by 2 p.m. Snowfall at Pearson Airport actually broke a daily record and was among the top 10 snowfall totals ever recorded there with a total of 32 cm.
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