The Canyons of Winnipeg
Feb 8, 2011 17:27:46 GMT
Post by imec on Feb 8, 2011 17:27:46 GMT
Posting this as not everyone here knows what it's like to live with the type of winter we "enjoy" on the Canadian prairies...
Late one night last week, the plows rumbled through our streets, apparently (I slept soundly) making a hell of a racket and making our 7000+ kilometers of streets (PLUS sidewalks) easily navigable once again. We've had a fair bit of snow this winter and last week we had our latest major addition (about a foot). It's cold (mostly well below freezing) for at least 4 months of the year so the snow just accumulates with very little melt. As you may imagine, the banks of snow just keep getting higher and higher until they are scooped up by loaders and hauled away to snow disposal sites - and/or eventually melt into the street. Once the city finishes with the plowing they will begin to haul the current banks (or "windrows" as the city refers to them) away. Until then, our streets are like little canyons of packed snow and ice.
The road in front of my house.
Some of the streets in the area.
The sidewalks are also plowed - the road is to the left of the snowbank. The ridge immediately adjacent to the sidewalk is about 2ft high. The larger further to the left is 5-6ft.
Back on the road...
As you can see, by the time the plows arrive, it's not so much snow, but is chunks of tightly packed snow verging on ice - it is VERY hard. The piece in the close-up is about 6" thick. Very difficult to dig through - although it is necessary to do so as the plows clear the bank from a resident's driveway but not for a walkway through the bank - essential for a senior who needs to access the road to get in a cab.
The banks dwarf the kids returning from school - and offer an irresistable (but potentially deadly) challenge to climb and slide down.
And so, I make my way home, pleased that the raods are once again passable but dreading the next snowfall and beyond that the potholes that will appear in the spring.
Back home at chez imec...
Late one night last week, the plows rumbled through our streets, apparently (I slept soundly) making a hell of a racket and making our 7000+ kilometers of streets (PLUS sidewalks) easily navigable once again. We've had a fair bit of snow this winter and last week we had our latest major addition (about a foot). It's cold (mostly well below freezing) for at least 4 months of the year so the snow just accumulates with very little melt. As you may imagine, the banks of snow just keep getting higher and higher until they are scooped up by loaders and hauled away to snow disposal sites - and/or eventually melt into the street. Once the city finishes with the plowing they will begin to haul the current banks (or "windrows" as the city refers to them) away. Until then, our streets are like little canyons of packed snow and ice.
The road in front of my house.
Some of the streets in the area.
The sidewalks are also plowed - the road is to the left of the snowbank. The ridge immediately adjacent to the sidewalk is about 2ft high. The larger further to the left is 5-6ft.
Back on the road...
As you can see, by the time the plows arrive, it's not so much snow, but is chunks of tightly packed snow verging on ice - it is VERY hard. The piece in the close-up is about 6" thick. Very difficult to dig through - although it is necessary to do so as the plows clear the bank from a resident's driveway but not for a walkway through the bank - essential for a senior who needs to access the road to get in a cab.
The banks dwarf the kids returning from school - and offer an irresistable (but potentially deadly) challenge to climb and slide down.
And so, I make my way home, pleased that the raods are once again passable but dreading the next snowfall and beyond that the potholes that will appear in the spring.
Back home at chez imec...