Rumour or Reality? Priorities in Snow Clearing

You may have heard the claim: “The Town clears some streets first and ignores others.”

The truth - Whitby does prioritize certain streets first - but it’s based on safety and infrastructure needs, not neighbourhood preference.

The Town is responsible for clearing more than:

• 1,200+ lane kilometres of roads
• 335 kilometres of sidewalks
• 297 cul-de-sacs
• 122,000 square metres of parking lots

Because of that scale, snow clearing follows a structured priority system - a set snow clearing order. Roads are grouped as Primary, Secondary and Tertiary, and they’re serviced in that sequence.

Priority 1 – Primary Roads
Major arterial routes which provide access to Regional roads, schools, community centres and industrial/commercial areas. 

Priority 2 – Secondary Roads
Collector roads that feed into primary and tertiary routes.

Priority 3 – Tertiary Roads
Residential streets, sidewalks, trails and municipal parking lots.

During longer or ongoing snowfall, crews may return to Primary routes before all neighbourhood streets are finished. That can make clearing appear uneven — but it reflects the Town’s established priority system.

It’s not about favourites. It’s about keeping the entire community moving safely.

Learn more about winter operations  - whitby.ca/snow

For accurate updates during winter weather, the Town’s newsroom, newsletters and social media channels remain the official source.

Share facts. Not fiction.

Straight from the source  - whitby.ca/subscribe

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