All you need to know about Vaughan’s winter services
As the weather continues getting colder, the City’s winter maintenance crews are gearing up to remove snow and ice from roads, paths, sidewalks and windrows to ensure everyone can travel safely throughout Vaughan no matter the weather.
With more than 230 pieces of winter maintenance equipment, here is how we are committed to keeping you safe and moving throughout the city:
Anti-icing: Before a snowfall, the City prepares roads by spraying brine on their surface to prevent the formation of black ice. Brine, a solution of rock salt and water, acts immediately as a barrier on road surfaces and remains effective for several days. This prevents precipitation from adhering to the road, reducing the risk of slippery conditions.
Salting: During a heavy snowfall or major storm, our crews will salt and clear sidewalks in main areas before moving to residential areas. We aim to salt municipal main roads within four hours after snowfall ends, and residential roads, including narrower streets like laneways behind townhomes, are salted within 12 hours. York Region is responsible for salting regional roads in Vaughan.
Snowplowing: Plowing begins as soon as five centimetres (two inches) of snow have accumulated. We aim to plow all municipal roads within 16 hours after a snowfall has ended. Main roads are plowed first to keep them clear for emergency and transit vehicles before moving to residential areas. Main roads are completed within four hours after a snowfall has ended and residential roads are completed within 12 hours. York Region is responsible for plowing regional roads in Vaughan, such as Major Mackenzie Drive, Rutherford Road, Bathurst Street, Keele Street and Dufferin Street.
Windrow clearing: Snow-clearing for roads and windrows is performed by different plowing vehicles. Our windrow-clearing service is completed up to four hours after a snowplow has passed. Due to differing operating speeds, windrow-clearing operators must work on a separate schedule from our snowplow operators. Snowplows work in one continuous movement as they go from street to street, whereas our windrow-clearing operators must slow down to raise and drop their blades as they go from driveway to driveway. Due to the limited size and reach of the windrow-clearing units, they can only clear a portion of the driveway entrance – residual amounts of snow may be left behind. Please note this service does not clear windrows left by sidewalk plows and does not clear hardened snow, ice or the entire driveway. It is your responsibility to clear the small windrow across a driveway created by sidewalk plows.
To report non-emergency winter maintenance service requests, visit Service Vaughan.
Stay informed!
For more information on our winter maintenance program, visit vaughan.ca/snow. For additional details and to receive the latest information on Vaughan’s winter operations:
contact the SNOW hotline at 905-879-SNOW (7669) or email snow@vaughan.ca.
follow the City’s official corporate channels on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
subscribe to Vaughan News.
