Everything you need to know about Vaughan’s winter operations

The City of Vaughan’s winter crews are ready for the heavy snowfall in today’s forecast! Whether it’s addressing ice on roads or clearing snow from local streets, paths and sidewalks, the City continues to provide efficient, reliable and high-quality winter maintenance services.

With more than 230 pieces of winter maintenance equipment ready to be dispatched, here is how we are committed to keeping you safe and moving on snowy days:

• Anti-icing:  Before a snowfall, our crews help prepare roads by spraying brine, a liquid made of rock salt and water. It is sprayed on the road surface in anticipation of freezing temperatures to prevent the formation of black ice or before a winter snow event. The liquid brine works immediately as a barrier, so precipitation doesn't stick to the road and slippery conditions are avoided. 

• Snowplowing: Plowing begins as soon as five centimetres (two inches) of snow have accumulated on public roads. We aim to plow all 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. For a full list of regional roads, visit york.ca.

• 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 (such as Ansley Grove Road, Chancellor Drive, Kipling Avenue, Woodbridge Avenue and more) 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. For a full list of regional roads, visit york.ca.

• Windrow clearing: Our windrow-clearing service is completed up to four hours after a snowplow has passed. You might be wondering why there’s a gap between the two services. That’s because our windrow-clearing service follows our snowplowing operations to ensure our main roads are clear for emergency and transit vehicles first. 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.