WESTLOCK – The Town of Westlock publicly apologized Jan. 3 for the current state of its snow-covered streets, saying that while priority and emergency routes have been cleared, fluctuating temperatures and staff illness put them behind to start 2023.
In a Jan. 4 interview, town CAO Simone Wiley noted the snow removal delay was due to a “combination of things” and pointed to a lack of communication with the public due to holiday schedules, so they took to social media to offer an apology and “own it” and “not just be silent.”
“Timing was an issue in getting our messaging out with staff shortages and changing weather,” said Wiley, noting the extreme cold prior to Christmas. “Had the snowpack stayed that same way, we wouldn’t have been in the situation that we’re in now where you’ve got all this soft, mushy snow that’s no longer hard packed and easy to get through.”
Many residents voiced their concerns on social media about the state of the main and side streets, as well as residential areas, while resident John Crick was one of the first to respond to the town’s Jan. 3 post and thanked them for the update, saying he appreciated seeing “the giant pile of snow in the middle of the road on 104th.” He also asked that the municipality inform residents sooner if possible and pointed out how great it was to see the “town taking ownership.”
The town’s social media post also shared a link to the snow removal bylaw (Bylaw 2012-08) and snow removal guidelines, (Policy No. P-20-2007) on its website — the latter provides a policy statement that reads: “Winter maintenance operations for snow removal from roadways will be implemented by priority based on the location of the emergency routes, downtown business core, schools and classification of roadways such as arterial, collector and local.” Snow clearing operation follows the snow removal policy, noted Wiley, with clearing in residential zones starting only after priority areas are done
In addition to the update, the town provided a map of snow removal routes Jan. 4-5 and noted they engaged a couple of local contractors to help with the work.
“We’re down a couple of people, so we do need the assistance to get this event taken care of so we can get all the snow removed off of the streets,” said Wiley, noting they planned to have the entire town completely cleared by the weekend.
“In years past, we've certainly strived to have a very good, high-level of service for our residents, and it was this combination of all of these things in this particular event that slowed us down.”
