Two big snow events in late 2022 pushed the City of Richmond’s snow response costs significantly over budget.
The city had earmarked almost $1.4 million for snow removal, but the two big dumps – on Nov. 29 and just before Christmas – pushed total expenses to $2.2 million.
A report on the city’s response to these snow events, on the agenda for Monday’s city council committee meeting, notes lack of snow clearing by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) in areas like the Steveston overpass and on-ramps, under their jurisdiction, caused more problems the night of Nov. 29.
During this first snowstorm of the year, cars were stuck in traffic for hours – some reported 10-hour commutes home – with bottlenecks at the George Massey Tunnel and the Alex Fraser Bridge having an impact on Richmond roads.
The traffic congestion meant some Richmond crews weren’t able to clear roads, despite operating 24/7 on 12-hour rotating shifts.
“When the response for treatment of highways and infrastructure not managed by the City are insufficient, traffic can become backlogged onto City roads, restricting their serviceability by City crews,” the city staff report notes.
At some point, Richmond RCMP contacted the city to ask them to clear and treat the Steveston Highway on-ramp to help move immobilized traffic.
When the second snowstorm was forecast, city crews starting brining roads on already on Dec. 18. After the snowfall, however, heavy rain and freezing rain added to the concern for flooding.
Some congestion was caused by the counter-flow lanes in the tunnel not being activated, city staff noted in its report.
The airport, on the other hand, cancelled hundreds of flights, causing aviation chaos in the pre-Christmas period.
City staff are urging council to ask the ministry to “review their response protocols for anti-icing, pre-treatment and de-icing of roads that are located in Richmond, but under their jurisdiction.”
To pay for the extra $818,000 needed, $291,000 will be taken from a “snow and ice provision account” and the rest will be covered by the engineering and public works operating budget.
The snow and ice budget is based on a four-year average and about $1.4 million is budgeted for 2023.
