Abbotsford received around 44 cm of snow last week, from Jan. 11 to 18, closing businesses across the valley. This included the university, which was closed on and off throughout the entire week, with three days of complete closure on the Abbotsford campus.
Abbotsford snow removal resources are woefully underfunded for the amount of roads that need to be cleared and the amount of snow we receive in a relatively short period of time.
Compared to the rest of Canada, B.C. is not known for its snowfall or its cold winters, as many will eagerly tell you. We do, however, receive comparable amounts of snow to other provinces.
In 2019 Abbotsford had a $1.026 million budget for snowfall removal for a population of 141,000 people. Red Deer has a similar population to Abbotsord at 104,000 people but had a budget of $5.4 million for snow removal in 2019. Red Deer receives on average only about twice as much snow as Abbotsford, 106 cm compared to 55 cm average from 1981 to 2010 according to statistics from Environment Canada.
Looking farther east, Toronto has a snow removal budget of $40.4 million. Although it does receive over twice the amount of snow per year that Abbotsford does, 121 cm compared to 55 cm, Abbotsford has considerably more roads to clear than Toronto. The budget for Abbotsford covers over 900 km of roads, while Toronto’s covers 500 km.
It is difficult to make direct comparisons between other cities due to the many factors that affect how much needs to be spent to clear snow, but from the recent city closure it certainly feels as though Abbotsford does not have adequate resources to deal with considerable snowfall over a short period of time.
It has been argued that Abbotsford doesn’t receive consistent enough snowfall to warrant an increase in its snow removal budget. Our snowfall can range from 40 cm to well over 100 cm, and it is almost impossible to predict what we will receive each year, despite meteorologists’ best efforts. The effects of climate change are likely to make this even more unpredictable, though some believe that increased rainfall (up to a 11 per cent increase by 2020) may result in increased snowfall at higher elevations.
Shutting down the city is wonderful for many who have the privilege of being able to enjoy this time, but many in Abbotsford are paid hourly and live paycheque to paycheque. They do not have the luxury of missing out on work. Many will still make the effort to go to work, either from necessity or concern for job security, which results in an increase in the number of crashes during winter weather.
The city shuts down every year for a number of days, while our snow-removal crews work tirelessly to clear the roads but never seem to be able to clear enough to keep the city open and the people safe. The city needs to start prioritizing timely snow removal as a necessity in its budget instead of as an afterthought.
Image: Geoff Dersen
