‘Everybody is exhausted’: Plow crews continue to work around the clock in Waterloo Region
Posted Feb 21, 2025 07:29:51 AM.
Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 10:48:09 AM.
Are you tired of winter yet?
With just under a month until the first day of spring, snow plow crews still have weeks of work to clear roadways, sidewalks and snowbanks around Waterloo Region.
To help cleanup efforts, snow events have been extended in Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, meaning no on-street parking anywhere in the cities without exemption.
Scott Berry, the manager of maintenance at the City of Kitchener, and his team have been incredibly busy this winter season, using everything from loader-mounted snow blowers, graters, and dump trucks to get the roadways cleared and the snow banks cut down to a manageable level.
David Pressey, manager of transportation operations at the region, echoes the sentiment on how busy this year has been. Crews have been working 12 hour shifts throughout the last several months and, he said, it’s been exhausting.
“Everyone’s tired of winter,” Pressey said. “Staff are continuing to support each other, they are continuing to be here and provide the services to the region. They are trying to keep everybody up.”
According to Berry, the annual budget for winter maintenance at the City of Kitchener is roughly $8.2 million.
“It’s safe to say that those budgets are not drafted in terms of worst-case scenarios, they’re based on an average winter,” said Berry. “We’ll likely spend more than what the budgeted amount is. We do have reserves specifically for this type of thing.”
The region, according to Pressey, has “sufficient funds” to manage storms because the last several years have fluctuated being light and heavy with snow.
Hundreds of workers and contracted plow crews have been working around the clock over the past week to clear the nearly two feet of snow that has fallen on Waterloo Region.
“We’ve been going for, it seems like, about two weeks straight,” said Berry. “Sleep is a luxury at this point for our team. I think everybody is exhausted and I think that goes for municipal workers and contractors across the province right now.”
Berry added that they’ve transitioned into the loading phase of cleanup, and that efforts will continue for the next few weeks, with the hopes that an early thaw will help their cause.
Pressey said his crews are focused on digging out the rural townships, which despite being just north, see very different weather conditions.
“I live in Cambridge and talk to my guys up in the north end and I’m surprised on what they’re seeing,” he said. “To say it’s drastic is an understatement. The rural road network is impacted by high winds and people that travel on them are travelling at a higher rate of speed.”
When winds gust up to 30 or 40 km/h, he said the drifting snow creates a “real challenge” for teams.
“In my professional career, this is definitely ranking among the busiest of winter seasons.”
A brief thaw coming soon
According to 570’s Meteorologist Jill Taylor, some warm air is in the forecast to kick off next week.
“This milder air is gradually going to work in, it’ll actually be above the freezing mark early next week, but it’s not going to last,” said Taylor.
She expects highs of 3 C on Monday and Tuesday, but more cold air for Wednesday and the rest of the week.
