Winter activity guide out now! Registration begins Dec 9.
Home & Neighbourhood Roads & Trails Snow & Ice Control
Snow comes every year and the City needs your help keeping winter roads as clear and safe as possible.
Did you know that residents have a role in snow and ice control? It’s true! Check out what you need to do, for the winter safety of you and your neighbours, come snowfall.
Please review the Community Standards bylaw for full details or keep reading for more on your responsibilities.
City staff monitor the forecast and will start plowing and sanding at any time, 24 hours a day, when snow has accumulated to 5 cm, or when excessive drifting starts. Streets are cleared based on a priority system so the highest traffic roadways are addressed first. The first priority is the arterial roads in Beaumont along with the other major roadways. For more information on how the City manages snow and ice, see the 2024 Winter Service Level Maps [pdf].
Residents have to do their part every year to help with snow and ice control. Review the list of items you’re required to look after, not only for your own safety, but the safety of others.
If there’s a fire hydrant near your home, or on your private property, you’re responsible to clear snow and ice away from it.
Make 1.5 meters (5 feet) of space around the hydrant.
It’s important in an emergency that Beaumont Fire Services can quickly access the hydrant. Please refer to the Water and Wastewater Management Bylaw [1052-24]: page 11, section 46 [PDF].
Remove and clear away all snow from the sidewalks on land next to your property within 48 hours of the snowfall. This also includes looking out for ice.
Avoid pushing snow, ice, dirt or other bits of debris onto the street while maintaining your property.
Remove all snow and debris from your car, to keep yourself and others safe on your daily commute. Failing to do so is a traffic violation and can result in a ticket. Debris can reduce visibility and add obstacles for everyone on the road.
Parking bans start at midnight on the day indicated as we may begin (in emergency situations especially) removing snow as early as 12 am.
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.
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 the City’s service request portal to submit their concern or question.
During business hours you can also contact 780-929-4300.
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:
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:
Additional snow or windy conditions 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.
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 determine an efficient and accessible route for emergency vehicles by contacting municipal snow-clearing crews.
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 a windrow? – A windrow is a ridge or pile of snow that is left behind after a snow plow or grader plows.
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 10 cm depth in compacted snow or ice.