The Municipality is responsible for winter road maintenance including, plowing, sanding, and salting more than 360 kilometers of roadway.
The Municipality does its best to quickly clear the snow and ice to reduce hazards to motorists and pedestrians. It is important to note however, that the Municipality must comply with Ontario’s Minimum Maintenance Standard for all roads.
Several factors including temperature, future forecasts and precipitation determine how and when plowing, salting, or sanding should take place.
What can you do to help?
- Respect the Traffic and Parking By-Law 02-27 Section 13 Winter Parking Restrictions – keep parked cars off the streets
- Respect the Use and Care of Roads By-Law 02-100 Section 2.a. General Prohibitions – don’t throw or deposit snow or ice on a roadway, sidewalk or boulevard or across a roadway
- Remind children not to climb, play or dig forts on snowbanks
- Place garbage and recycling containers in a safe place where the plow will not hit them
Winter parking
In accordance with Traffic and Parking By-Law 02-27 Section 13:
No person shall park, or stand a vehicle or permit a vehicle to remain parked on any highway or in a municipal parking lot between the hours of 1:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. from December 1 in any year to March 31 of the following year, both dates inclusive.
No person shall park or stand a vehicle or permit a vehicle to remain parked on any highway at any time when the highway is specially marked with signs indicating snow removal or when such person has received verbal or written notice from a representative of the Municipality indicating the prohibition of parking.
No person shall park, or stand a vehicle or permit a vehicle to remain parked on any highway or in a municipal parking lot between the hours of 1:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. from April 1 in any year to November 30, on dates when snow or freezing rain is forecasted, and for an additional 4 calendar days after an event where snow has accumulated.
Winter Sidewalk Maintenance
Municipality of Mississippi Mills completes winter maintenance on sidewalks in conformance with Ontario Regulation 239/02 Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways as amended by O. Reg. 366/18. Winter maintenance on sidewalks within Mississippi Mills is completed on Class 1 and 2 sidewalks. There is no winter maintenance on Class 3 sidewalks.
All Class 3 Sidewalks within the Municipality of Mississippi Mills as identified closed from November 1st of any given year to April 15th of the following year.
Sidewalks are classified in accordance with the associated pedestrian traffic and proximity to high volume roadways, in addition to the ease with which they can be cleared.
Class 1—sidewalks abutting high volume roadways, sidewalks located within commercial core areas. Winter Maintenance after 5cm snow accumulation, completed within 12 hours
Class 2—balance of sidewalk on medium volume roadways that can be cleared with mechanized plow equipment, including those sidewalks near schools and facilities. Winter Maintenance after 8cm snow accumulation, completed within 24 hours.
Class 3—sidewalks on lower volume roadways that will not be cleared due to standard of construction and/or destination. No winter maintenance.
Each winter event is unique, extreme weather and prolonged storms may prevent the sidewalks from being cleared quickly even with the best efforts of Municipal forces. This in turn results in different actions or approaches to be taken in responding to the uniqueness of the storm. As a result, the timeline required for final storm clean-up is difficult to predict in advance.
The quality standards are intended to maintain a reasonable safe, affordable, and effective pedestrian access network throughout the municipality during the winter months.
Removal of snow will take place on streets taking into consideration public safety, snow storage capability, emergency access routes, street parking requirements and general pedestrian volumes.
Snow removal operations are generally carried out at night time when the No Parking by-law is in effect.
