Snow & Ice Control

If you have a fire hydrant near your home, or on your private property, you are responsible to clear snow and ice from the hydrant so there is a 1.5 meters (5 feet) clearing around the hydrant. This ensures that in an emergency, Beaumont Fire Services can access the hydrant as fast as possible.

You are required to remove and clear away all snow from the sidewalks situated on land adjacent to that property within 48 hours of the time the snow was deposited on the sidewalk. This also includes looking out for ice. Full details can be found in the Community Standards Bylaw [pdf].

As easy as it may be, you are not allowed to push snow, ice, dirt or other forms of debris while maintaining your property. Full details can be found in the Community Standards Bylaw [pdf].

We all get in a rush, but to keep yourself and others safe on your daily commute you must remove all snow and debris from your car. This is a traffic violation if you don’t do so, and can result in a ticket. Most importantly, this debris can cause dangerous conditions for you and other drives by creating visibility and obstruction obstacles for everyone on the road.

Keep a look out for snow clearing signs on specific streets/neighbourhoods throughout the season. No parking is permitted on these designated streets that are marked for snow clearing. Parking in those areas could result in you receiving a ticket. The parking ban starts at midnight on the day indicated as we may begin (in emergency situations especially) removing snow as early as 12 am.

Beaumont has set service levels for Roadway Ice Control, Snow Plowing, and Removal. These service levels reflect the priority of each road in Beaumont. Priority roads are arterial roads and collector roads that have the highest volumes of traffic per day, like 50 Street and 50 Avenue.

Cul-de-sacs are not part of the 2-way traffic routes in Beaumont, and therefore are a lower priority for clearing than arterial and collector routes.

Residents have access online 24/7 to our Service Beaumont the City’s service request portal to submit their concern or question.

Alternately, you may contact 780-929-4300 during business hours.

Please note bylaw complaints (rather than citywide public snow removal) should be directed to Municipal Enforcement at 780-851-9992.

Snow being dumped onto your private property is a matter between you and your neighbour, and the City does not typically get involved. If you have tried to discuss the problem with your neighbour and have been unable to resolve the issue, you can contact Beaumont’s Municipal Enforcement at 780-851-9992. Please be prepared to provide any of the following information:

• Identity or description of the individual(s) committing the illegal dumping.
• License plate and description of vehicle(s) used.
• Date and time of the incident.
• Items or materials disposed.
• Photos or video evidence if available.

Snow and ice control on the roads in Beaumont are determined by Roadway Ice Control, Snow Plowing and Removal service levels.

Within a service level, schedules are set based on the following factors:

• Road condition
• Parked vehicles
• Previous order
• Solid waste service day
• School Professional Development days
• And more

Additional snow or windy condition may result in high priority roads being plowed more than once before lower priority roads are plowed for the first time.

Residents are responsible for removal of windrows left behind by graders which are 30 cm (12 inches) in height.

Windrows of plowed snow in excess of 30 cm (12 inches) high shall normally be removed from all front street driveway approaches as part of the City’s grader snow clearing operation. (NOTE: When truck plows are dispatched to clear snow, they normally do not leave windrows greater than 30 cm high.)

Refer to the below definition for windrow for more information.

Snow removed by Beaumont is brought to our Snow Storage Facility, located at the Operations Facility.

Beaumont uses graders, plow/sanding trucks, and front-end loaders for Snow and Ice Control on the roads.

In the event of an emergency, 911 dispatchers will be in touch with municipal snow-clearing crews to ensure emergency vehicles have an efficient and accessible route.

If a resident wishes to maintain a pathway on the boulevard to the street, it is their responsibility to do so.

Residents are not allowed to dump or take snow from one location and dump it onto another property.

What is a boulevard? – Area between a roadway curb and sidewalk.

What is ice control? – Ice Control is the application of aggregate abrasives and/or chemicals to a driving or walking surface to improve traction.

What is sanding? – The application of a combination of sand, salt, and calcium chloride to a roadway surface to improve traction.

What is snow drifting? – Depositing of windblown snow on roadways or lanes which makes the passage of vehicles difficult or impossible.

What is snow plowing? – The grading of accumulated snow from roadway surfaces to sides of a roadway or lane which creates a windrow.

What is snow removal? – The loading and truck hauling of snow from roadway surfaces to a designated snow disposal site(s)

What is snow rutting? – The formation of troughs and ridges in excess of 10cm depth in compacted snow or ice.

What is a windrow? – A windrow is a ridge or pile of snow that is left behind after a snow plow or grader plows.