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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, January 16, 2014 | 4 Windrow removal for all bears a hefty price tag continued from p.1 Oakville's Director of Roads and Works Operations Enrico Scalera confirmed the cost is $85 plus HST ($96.05) for the season. The 2014 budget is $33,600, enough to serve 400 households. More than 300 homeowners have registered. However, Scalera explained it is subsidized through taxes as it costs the Town about $230 per registrant. In Burlington and Milton, a similar program costs $50, but serves fewer people -- 150 in Burlington while Milton's program is limited to 50 households. In Mississauga, windrow clearance is provided for 300 homes and is either free or $200, depending on whether the applicant meets a financial assistance criteria. Richmond Hill offers free service to seniors and those with disabilities and has 1,100 participants this season. The local fee is not Shaw's only peeve. He said it takes a long time for the plow to arrive. "This simply isn't good enough if one has an appointment to keep," said Shaw. "In our case, my wife, who has a bad back and is unable to help with the shovelling, had a bone density test scheduled for 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 3. In addition, she had to report for jury duty by 9 a.m. on Jan. 6 and scheduled to have an ultrasound on Jan. 22 at 10:50 a.m. Heaven help us if we had to remove a windrow in order to keep any of these appointments." Scalera said windrows are usually removed within 12 hours after the road is plowed -- but residential streets are plowed within 24 hours after a storm. "It could be 36 hours after the end of the storm, technically speaking," said Scalera. "We do try to time the service so that once we are nearing the end of our residential plowing we initiate the program. So, we don't wait until all residential roads are complete. We initiate the program earlier so we can get it done as quickly as possible." In Burlington, the windrow program aims to clear the snow 16 hours after roads have been plowed, while in Milton, the wait time is within 24 hours and in Mississauga, it's three hours. Burlington, Mississauga and Milton's residential roads are also plowed within 24 hours following the end of a snowstorm. The Richmond Hill windrow program aims to clear driveways within 24 hours after a storm. Shaw is quick to note Vaughan removes windrows for everyone -- for free. That city's website boasts it is the only municipality in the Greater Toronto Area to do so. It further states the city tries to have the windrows cleared within 19 hours after a snowstorm. Scalera said if Oakville did the same, it would come with a hefty price tag. "That involves additional equipment to complement each plow. There is a special piece of equipment that follows the plow and removes the windrow from every single driveway," he said. inside today's Spotlight Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com 6 30 Beaver Trails Classified 26 36 Dell Computers, Frescho, Food Basics, Metro, 3 for 1 Glasses, M&M Meats, Home Hardware, Lastmans Bad Boy, Real Estate, Oh! Bombay, Rona, Village Pharmacy, Real Canadian Superstore, Cogeco, Ruth Anne Winter Group, JYSK, Starsky, The Bay, Michael-Angelo's, National Sports, No Frills, Fortinos, Canadian Tire, Longo's, Brick Mattress, Pharma Plus, Rexall, Sears, Staples, Walmart, Sport Chek, Target, Shoppers Drug Mart, Drug Trading, Centennial Windows, Best Buy, Reliance, The Brick, P&G, Pet Valu, Drug Trading, Sobeys, Solutions, Future Shop, Home Hardware *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online at www.oakvillebeaver.com "That is something we have reviewed previously through the budget process... We're talking about $2.5 million for a town-wide program (2009 estimate) and it would also come with a whole bunch of other implications including the need for an additional equipment storage site and additional resources to manage such a program." When asked why a plow can't simply raise its blades to lessen the size of a corner home's windrow, Scalera said it would leave snow in the road. "Our drivers are trained to minimize that (corner windrow) and there are certain things we can do, but it really does depend on the winter event. With large winter events, and a large amount of accumulation, you are going to end up with a large windrow," said Scalera. "Because this past snowfall has been heavy and wet, we have received a number of complaints, but really it's due to the type of event with snow followed by rain followed by a flash freeze. This makes the windrow very heavy and very difficult to remove and we appreciate that... There really is nothing the Town can do because we are responsible for clearing the snow from the roads." "I believe my situation is worse than most as I reside on the north side of Genesee at the corner of Howell," said Shaw. Residents who feel the windrow created on their driveway is significantly larger than the windrow created on their neighbour's driveway can contact Service Oakville at 905-845-6601. Town staff will inspect the area and if necessary take corrective action. s m e t ei r u t rni u F All It's that that time time of yea year again! again! It' off % 0 2 2 X % 0 2 Ma tast n a ny F off ms e t I ic 3 X % 0 2 er h t O Se off s tem I d e lect SALES EVENT only at DON'T DELAY! LIMITED QUANTITIES! That's right 20/20/20 it's the... 20,000 sq ft showroom Furniture & accessories 2269 FAIRVIEW ST. BURLINGTON 905-631-6000