"Where Does All The Snow Go?" Top 5 Page for this destination Ottawa Local Custom Tip by johngayton

During the course of an average Ottawa winter the city can expect a total of about 235 centimetres of snow to fall during the period November to March. Some winters this average is far exceeded with the record being 444.1 cm in 1970-71 and during my last visit in 2008 the record was almost surpassed with a total snowfall of 436.7 cm.

That's a lot of snow!

The responsibility for keeping the winter city running is down to the local council who use a variety of both hi-tech and low-tech methods and seem to be pretty well geared up for the task. It is obviously quite a major task and the snow removal has to be prioritized with the main roads getting the main attention whilst some residential areas may never be fully cleared once winter sets in.

Removing the snow to the disposal facilities is usually a last resort and initially the snow which is removed from roads and sidewalks is simply banked up alongside. Only once the snow banks become a safety hazard or otherwise too bulky will the snow actually be physically removed.

Whilst the city does keep the roadways and sidewalks as clear as possible it doesn't have any resonsibility for private property and so a main winter task for house owners and businesses is to keep their own driveways etc clear. However they can't just clear the snow onto public property and so most just pile it up wherever they can on their own property and wait for the spring thaw. This makes for quite a few interesting private mountains!

Phone: 613 580 2400
Website: http://ottawa.ca/residents/onthemove/