Mayor John Tory's standard response about sidewalk snow clearing, March 2019

Thank you for taking the time to write to the Office of the Mayor about the City's winter operations.

The Mayor knows that our City's winter operations are some of the most important services that we provide to our residents.

In response to the snowfall that the City of Toronto has experienced lately, the City's Transportation Services Division had crews working non-stop to clean-up our main streets and make sure our city kept moving. Regardless of these Herculean efforts by our crews, the Mayor knows that many residents felt frustrated with the service they received.

The Mayor wants to ensure that we are providing the absolute best winter operations we can. This is why the Mayor has requested a review of our winter operations so that we are doing everything possible to deal with difficult and extreme winter weather.

The Mayor has asked the General Manager of Transportation Services to launch a review focusing on:

• A study of our service levels around snow removal.

• The threshold for declaring a major snow event to trigger parking restrictions along key routes so those roads can be cleared quicker.

• How we can establish a zero tolerance system for vehicles blocking streetcar routes to ensure they are removed immediately and that drivers face stiff penalties for this infraction.

• A look at best practices and technology used in other Canadian cities when dealing with snow and ice.

• The cost of clearing the sidewalks in the Toronto and East York community council area and a detailed look at the benefits of harmonizing the city's sidewalk clearing.

Our City's winter operations ensure that despite the most severe weather conditions of the year, our residents can get around Toronto to work, school, and appointments, in a safe and timely manner. The Mayor believes our residents expect this service to be reliable and absolutely there when they need it throughout the winter season. With the review of the City's winter operations, it would ensure that we are doing everything possible to deal with difficult and extreme winter weather.

Please don't hesitate to continue to provide feedback to our office about the City's winter operations.

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