The snow removal schedules for the upcoming weeks can be found below. If residents have questions with regards to snow removal or would like to flag a street or neighborhood that requires immediate attention, please contact the City of Yellowknife’s customer service desk at (867) 920-5600 or raise your concern via Click and Fix YK. Please note that the snow removal team will take into account current road conditions as well as the overall work plan for snow removal when assessing and addressing the issues raised.
Snow Removal Schedule November 4 - November 8, 2024 |
Monday, November 4, 2024
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Friday, November 8, 2024
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Snow Removal Schedule November 11 - November 15, 2024 |
Monday, November 11, 2024
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Friday, November 15, 2024
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Snow Removal and Heavy Snow Fall |
The City of Yellowknife wishes to advise residents that in the event the city experiences heavy snow falls, the City may have no choice but to push snow from roads to the curbs in order to keep roads open to traffic. If this method is used, this will create a snow ridge across residents' driveways and snow on sidewalks, residents will have to shovel out their driveway entrances and if possible, help in cleaning the sidewalks. City By-law No. 5055 states that if residents are shovelling out their driveways, they must not put snow back onto the street as this can be a traffic hazard. |
Snow Removal Operations |
The City removes snow from Yellowknife's roads and where possible the sidewalks. Snow removal is generally performed once in residential areas and twice in the downtown core. Snow removal operations involve a grader removing snow from roads and sidewalks. This process may result in a drop off at residents' driveways. The height may vary, depending on snow accumulation, but could be in the 100-300mm range (4-12 inches). Residents should plan on ramping their driveway to street level after snow removal as this is not performed by the City. If driving before snow removal is completed, motorists should keep to the right of snow piles placed in the center of streets. Residents must ensure parked vehicles are removed by midnight of the scheduled day or they will be removed (towed). |
Winter Street Maintenance Priorities |
The City carries out snow removal, snow ploughing and winter street sand placement (sometimes referred to as sanding) to increase traction on the road and improve pedestrian and motorist safety. The City carries out snow removal on a priority system. High traffic areas and areas close to schools have a higher priority than low traffic residential roads.
The City asks for your continued patience as we work towards removing snow from City streets. We have received requests from some residents to carry out snow removal on their street, however we are not able to do so. To accelerate a request would mean postponing snow removal from a street that has a higher priority. A few reasons why a street may have a higher priority are: high vehicle or pedestrian traffic, location of a school, street may be narrow (a public safety concern), trucked services, public or school bus transit, etc. We do however investigate resident concerns, and if snow removal is not scheduled to take place soon, the City will plough the road with a grader in an attempt to improve the condition of the road. In the meantime, please drive safely. |
Snow Removal from Sidewalks |
See our Sidewalk Cleaning page for information on snow removal from sidewalks. |
Snow Removal
- The snow removal season typically runs from December to late April and is dependent on the weather.
- Residents are informed of snow being removed from city streets by radio ads and signs that are placed 24 hours before removal.
- Snow removal begins at 12:00 a.m. and takes place during the early morning to avoid conflicts with motorists, pedestrians and children at play.
- Residents must ensure parked vehicles are removed by midnight of the scheduled day or they will be removed (towed).
- Residents are advised that there will be traffic delays in snow removal areas and if possible to use an alternate route to avoid delays.
The City thanks you for your patience and reminds residents to use caution in snow removal areas and not pass moving equipment.
Snow Removal & Garbage Pick-Up
The City of Yellowknife needs your cooperation with snow removal and garbage pickup in your area. Please ensure streets are clear of obstacles for operators to perform snow removal in the early hours of the morning. Signs are placed 24 hours in advance in areas of snow removal so residents are aware snow removal will be taking place. The City would also like to remind residents that once garbage bins have been emptied to return them to your property so streets are clear for snow road maintenance.
The City appreciates your assistance in this matter to ensure a smooth snow removal transition.
For a map of snow plowing and sanding priorities, please visit the CityExplorer map tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the roads so rough this year? |
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What is the City doing about the road conditions? |
The City of Yellowknife has seven staff assigned to snow removal activities during the night, and three during the day. Staff continue to work diligently to complete their tasks and clear the roads. Overtime hours are consistently worked to keep up with the demand of snow removal in Yellowknife. |
Why isn’t the City fixing the rutting on many City Streets? |
The City of Yellowknife is working to fix ruts, however specific conditions are needed to fully clear the ruts. Typically, there are parked cars that have to be removed by residents or towed to ensure the area is clear and can be scraped. The City does scrape roads at regular intervals to level out rutting, but vehicles tend to continue to follow the ruts, which blows the bladed snow back out of the rut. |
Why doesn't the City just plow all roads constantly? |
The City of Yellowknife does not possess the proper resources to do this. The City works as diligently as it can with the current equipment to clear the roads (as outlined in the questions above). |
Why doesn't the City hire more contractors to help with snow removal? |
The City of Yellowknife must complete snow removal within the allocated budget resources. The City does engage contractors when extraordinary events necessitate such action. This help can be difficult to secure, as many local contractors have prior commitments and cannot leave them to assist the City. |
Why doesn't the City hire more staff to do more snow removal? |
As mentioned in the question above, the City of Yellowknife must complete snow removal within the allocated budget resources. If the City were to hire additional staff, a large number of new equipment pieces would also need to be purchased to see a significant difference. Additional storage space, which the City currently doesn’t have, would be required to store more equipment pieces. At this time, the budget does not support the hiring of new staff or the purchasing of new equipment or storage space. |
Why doesn't the City budget for larger snow events? |
City of Yellowknife staff track weather trends to obtain facts and provide data-driven analysis to support requests for increased budgets. Budget 2024 includes an additional $150,000 for contracted snow removal costs. |
Why does the City still do snow removal the same way? |
The City of Yellowknife has adapted its snow removal practices over the last decade and the method used is the most effective and efficient use of staff and equipment resources based on current weather patterns. Practices in other parts of Canada cannot be adapted to our community because of the uniqueness of weather patterns in the North. |
Why is the City doing low priority areas at this time? |
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Historical Data Set |
https://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_e.html |
Snow Maintenance Activities |
The City of Yellowknife’s snow maintenance activities consist of snow plowing and maintenance, street sanding, and snow removal.
Each activity has a service level based on a road priority system. These can be seen in City Explorer.
This priority system considers multiple factors, such as:
Snow plowing and road maintenance (grading), which is completed on a daily basis, is relatively quick and covers a large area of town in a shorter amount of time. This is done throughout the winter months, from the first snowfall until asphalt is bare in the spring.
Snow removal is the complete closure of a street with advanced notice. It is slower and requires more staff and equipment. Approximately 400-600 meters of snow removal can be cleared per shift on main roads like Franklin Avenue and Old Airport Road due to the width. On smaller streets, snow removal can range from 600-800 meters per shift. This depends on complications such as parked cars and the amount of snow placed on the roadway from residents.
The regular snow removal schedule is approximately 18 weeks. This accounts for snow removal on Franklin and Old Airport Road multiple times due to its importance and lower priority streets having one instance of snow removal. There is a window of flexibility to accommodate cold weather shut downs, like the community has seen this year.
Large snow events mean service levels increase, which are reflected in staff overtime hours and increased contracted costs. These events can usually be accommodated within approved budgets or within the Public Works and Engineering departmental variance.
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