Winter storm affects City roads, services, facilities

Alert issued to residents registered for emergency alert

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed January 6, 2022 12:30 PM

Summary

Nanaimo received up to 30 cm of snow overnight, which has impacted City roads, curbside collection services and recreation facilities. On the roads, City crews have been able to clear snow from priority 1 routes such as main roads and emergency routes and are now focusing on priority 2 and 3 routes such as secondary roads. Currently, all City snow clearing trucks are out along with backhoes to clear the compact snow and ice from secondary roads, culs-de-sac and dead ends that accumulated from last week's storms. The public is encouraged to stay off the roads to help give plows time to clear the roads. If travel is required, be prepared for winter driving conditions (slow down, leave extra room, watch for pedestrians) and have a winter car emergency kit.

City recreation facilities are closed for the day and all recreation programs and facility rentals have been cancelled. Recreation patrons, rental groups and program registrants can stay up to date on the City's Parks, Recreation and Culture page at: www.nanaimo.ca/parks-recreation-culture

Garbage and recycling collection for January 6, 2022 has been cancelled. Due to the extended delays in resuming curbside collection service, the RDN is offering City of Nanaimo residents free drop-off of their curbside waste at the Regional Landfill in Cedar (1105 Cedar Rd). Residents using the free drop-off will need to provide identification and their address at the facility scale house. The free drop off will be available for affected areas until curbside service is fully restored. Please wait until road conditions are safe before taking garbage to the landfill.

An alert was issued this morning to residents registered for the City's emergency notification system, Voyent Alert! advising of the hazardous road conditions and recreation facility closures. In the event of other wide-scale impacts, another alert will be sent out. Residents can register for Voyent Alert! by following the instructions at www.nanaimo.ca/goto/alerts.

Please help pedestrians travel through Nanaimo safely. Property owners and tenants (residential and businesses) are responsible for clearing snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of their property. For driver safety and plow efficiency, please avoid shovelling snow onto the streets.

Snow is expected to turn into rain of up to 20 mm later today, which will further affect the roads and create the potential for localized flooding. City crews are out clearing as many catch basins and drains as possible, but homeowners and businesses are asked to help prevent flooding by clearing ones in front of their properties. If flooding occurs, sand and sand bags for filling are available at the Public Works yard (bring a shovel and ties). If possible, please wait until road conditions are safe before visiting Public Works. To report flooding, please call Public Works 24-hour hotline at 250-758-5222.

The City of Nanaimo understands ongoing frustrations over the impacts to roads and City services and thanks all residents for their patience and community-mindedness in helping out others during this time.

Stay up to date with conditions on www.nanaimo.ca and on social media (@CityofNanaimo on Facebook and Twitter). For up-to-date information on public transit, follow @RDN_Transit on Twitter. Please also listen to local radio stations the Wave 102.3 or Wolf 106.9.

Link to Strategic Plan: Keeping our community safe is an important part of Livability and a responsibility of Governance Excellence.

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