Snow Clearing

The Town of Whitby works to make our community safe to travel during the winter months.

Find My Street

Use the Find My Street online tool to locate your street and see when it's expected to be cleared after winter weather events. You can learn more information about the sidewalks and trails that we maintain throughout the winter season.

Find My Street

Snow clearing contacts

If you have any questions during or after a snowstorm, we ask for your patience if you're calling about a non-emergency situation. Our staff at the Operations Centre are prioritizing their time to help with snow clearing operations during and after snowstorms. When they are available, they will take your call as soon as soon as they can.

You can contact:

Roads, sidewalk, parking lot information

What is your responsibility during winter months?

If you are a resident and property owner, it is your responsibility to:

Clear your own driveway
Keep your windrows left by snowplows cleared on both the road and sidewalks (may need to do this more than once a day depending on the severity of snow events)
Clear off ice and snow from the sidewalk fronting and on each side of your property
Avoid parking on the streets during a snowstorm and in the days afterwards to allow snow plows to operate effectively and reduce windrows and extra costs for maintenance

How you can help

There are many ways you can help us clear snow:

Remove debris and snow from any catch basin inlet (storm drain) near or beside your property.
Only pile snow on your property or on the boulevard as it is a violation under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act to push or blow snow onto the street and you will receive a ticket from the Durham Regional Police.
Reduce the height of the snow bank by shoveling the snow back further onto your property to improve visibility when entering or exiting your driveway.
Expose fire hydrants that become buried by snow banks or drifting snow and contact the Region of Durham if you have any questions.

Winter control program

Winter conditions can create a challenge for both pedestrians and motorists. Our main objective is to address snow and ice on the roads, sidewalks, and parking lots so you can travel safely and get where you need to go. To learn more about our winter road maintenance, view the "What to expect after a snowfall" infographic to get in the know.

Primary objectives

The primary objectives of the winter control program are to:

Reduce hazards of winter road and sidewalk conditions
Reduce economic loss to the community and industry caused by inability to access the workplace
Help fire and police officials handle emergencies
Maintain safe, passable school bus and public transit routes
Comply with the Provincial Government's Minimum Maintenance Standards (MMS)

Winter control level of service standards

Learn about what areas of service that we provide for the winter control program.

Roads

To keep our roads safe to travel on through the winter months, we are responsible for:

Sanding
Salting
Plowing
Snow removal

We monitor and identify the response needed through dedicated weather forecasts each day throughout the winter season. Although this data can help us gain valuable insights, it can be difficult to predict timeline responses to snow events in advance. Winter conditions and snow events are both unique. Different areas of the community also get varying amounts of rain, snow or ice.

Road classes

To ensure that you travel as best as possible on roads through snow events, we have divided the Town's roads into priorities ranging from 1 through 6 based on posted speed limits and Average Annual Daily Trips (AADT). Class 1 is the highest priority having the most vehicles travelled, and Class 6 is very lightly travelled.

Class of highway	Examples	Depth of snow	Time of snow removal	Time of ice removal
2	Dundas St, Brock St, Baldwin St	5 cm	6 hours	4 hours
3	Anderson St, Garden St, Garrard Rd, Carnwith Dr	8 cm	12 hours	8 hours
4	Arthur St, Watford St, Valleywood Dr, Athol St	8 cm	16 hours	12 hours
5	Beech St, Cedarbrook Dr, Gladiola Crt, Lloyd St	10 cm	24 hours	16 hours
6	Ontario St (Myrtle Station), Front St (Myrtle Station), Evensong Dr, Galt St, Grand Tuck St	10 cm	Once all others have been completed	Once all others have been completed

Sidewalks

We work to keep sidewalks safe during winter months so you can travel safely through the community. Because sidewalks cannot be cleared all at once, we have divided up the sidewalks into classes that define the priority and level of service they receive. Contact us for a map of our maintained sidewalks to learn where the snowplow clears in your area.

Class A

Class A sidewalks include most travelled areas in Downtown Whitby and Brooklin.

Responses include:

Maximum accumulation of 2.5 cm
Every 8 hours if precipitation continues
Plow, salt and sand applied as required

Class B

Class B sidewalks include school crossings and priority travel routes for arterials and major collectors.

Responses include:

Following completion of Class A sidewalks
Maximum allowable accumulation of 5 cm
Every eight hours if precipitation continues
Plow, salt, and sand applied as required

Class C

Class C sidewalks include secondary travel routes for minor collectors, certain local roads and sidewalks adjacent to Town property.

Responses include:

Following completion of Class A and B sidewalks
Maximum allowable accumulation of 10 cm
Every eight hours if precipitation continues
Plow, salt and sand applied as required

Class D

Class D includes senior’s driveways.

Responses include:

Maximum allowable accumulation of 10 cm
Seniors driveways commences only after Class A through Class C sidewalks have been completed

Class E

Class E includes complaints, bridges, and areas with drainage concerns.

Responses include:

Class E sidewalks are completed on an as required basis,
Salt and/or sand applied as required

Class F

Class F includes predetermined pathways and trails.

Responses include:

Class F pathways/trails are only groomed as required to a minimum depth of 4 cm

Seniors/Disabled windrow program

If you are a senior over 65 years or an individual with disabilities who resides in the Town of Whitby, we help to clear your snow and windrow during winter months. To learn if you are eligible for the service, how to register and what's included in the service, check out our snow and windrow clearing program.

Town of Whitby parking lots

We are responsible for clearing the parking lots in the community after a snow event so you can access buildings and facilities with ease. The parking lots are cleared when there is 5-8cm of snow accumulation. Complete plowing of the parking lot is scheduled after the snowstorm has ended and is timed for when the lot is either being lightly used or not being used at all.

Transit shelters and super mailboxes

The Region of Durham is responsible for snow clearing at transit bus shelters and bus stops. Please contact Durham Region Transit if you have any questions regarding transit.

Canada Post is responsible for clearing snow away from super mailbox areas. Please contact Canada Post if you have any questions.

Tips for safe winter driving

During the winter season, make sure that you:

Drive according to weather and road conditions
Stay off the roads unless your trip is necessary during severe conditions
Use extra caution when approaching an intersection with a stop sign or traffic light
Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you by using the 2-second rule
Ensure your car wheel wells are not built up with packed snow that can make it difficult to steer
Watch for frost or areas of the road that appear black or shiny as these conditions can cause your vehicle to lose traction
Know best practices of what to do if your vehicle begins to slide on packed down snow or icy roads and your ABS light turns on
Leave extra room while driving to avoid snow and slush spray that can block your vision while driving
Ensure that your vehicles lighting system is being used most effectively for the visibility you're in, especially when it is blowing snow and during the daytime hours
Be alert for pedestrians, persons with disabilities using assistive devices and children playing
Maintain a safe distance behind snow plows and sanders when you see blue flashing lights to give them space to operate properly and know that it is very dangerous to pass these operating vehicles due to their oversized equipment and unknown snow conditions ahead of them