Resources for Street Treatment

Treating the Streets

There are 4230 lane miles of city streets, and 1920 of those are on a snow route.Our fleet for treating roads during snow/ice events consists of60 plows, and 3 brine trucks.

Street Division's fleet is augmented by resources from Parks and Forestry who handle clearing of park roads, city government lots, and sidewalks around city government buildings.All of our fleet is kept in working order by the Equipment Services Division and their mechanics are on duty for emergency repairs to our equipment during snow events.

The city is divided into 5 districts and a salt station is located in or near each district for efficiency.  There are 2 shifts of drivers working 12 hours on, 12 hours off as necessary.

The following types of materials are used to treat our streets;

• Salt Brine - a salt water mix that is applied to roadway surfaces before snow begins to fall.It can be applied days in advance of a storm and helps melt snow/ice as it hits the pavement, slowing the accumulation rate.
• Salt - the principle deicer due to its availability and price.
• Magnesium/Calcium Chloride - a liquid mixed with the salt to make it more effective at colder temperatures