Winter Control and Plowing

We plow streets, transit bus stops, sidewalks, school crossings, walkways and many recreational trails. We also remove snow from key areas around the City to ensure roads are wide enough, sightlines aren't obstructed and to ensure there is sufficient room for snow between the road and sidewalk.

Before a winter event, our road crews may apply a liquid salt brine mixture to the primary roads to keep snow and ice from building up and sticking to the road. Anti-icing makes the roads easier to plow and may also reduce the need to use additional salt.

Salt is an effective material for controlling snow and ice on roads. When we receive a warning of an upcoming snowfall or ice storm, major arterial roads are anti-iced to prevent ice and snow from sticking to the roads. When using granular salt, it is placed on a narrow strip in the centre of the road and vehicular traffic will help to effectively work the salt towards the road edge. The combination of vehicular traffic, snow, ice and salt creates salt brine, which enables de-icing.

Before a weather event, we review weather reports, and observes the weather warnings issued by Environment Canada, and then will decide whether to declare a Significant Weather Event in the municipality, as defined within the Minimum Maintenance Standards Regulation Ont 239/02.

During a significant weather event, we will advise that motorists, pedestrians and residents use extra caution as the municipality may not be able to meet its maintenance standards for roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks due to the heavy snowfall expected. 

The declaration does not change how or when the municipality performs its winter maintenance operations. However, it may take us longer than usual to bring the roads and sidewalks back to a state of repair.  Public safety is our top priority.

The City of Belleville will provide updates when the significant weather event has ended. Please see the winter operation FAQ's below for more information. 

• Priority routes: Arterial roads, collector roads and bus routes are cleared first. These are high-capacity urban roads that see the highest use and greatest speeds, such as North Front St., Bell Blvd., and Dundas St.
• Secondary routes: After the primary routes are done, residential streets are cleared.
• Cul-de-sacs: Typically, cul-de-sacs are cleared last. This is because they are dead ends with lower volume than most residential streets and must be cleared using both a plow truck to clear the road and a front end loader to clear the snow that accumulates at the end of the cul-de-sac. Collected snow may be placed in the centre of the cul-de-sac where feasible.

Yes, on-street bike lanes are cleared at the same time as roads. We ask that motorists take extra caution when sharing the road with cyclists during the winter to help keep everyone safe.

For the upcoming winter season, we will be clearing:

• 14 plow/sander routes
• 2 grader plow routes
• 3 front end loader routes
• 3 loader/backhoes to help to load material on trucks and clear snow
• 1 pickup truck with plow to clear small lanes and crossovers and select City parking lots
• 6 sidewalk plow routes

Our snowplowing equipment will leave a ridge of snow across your driveway.

It is up to the property owner to remove the ridge left by the snow plow. When shoveling or snow-blowing your driveway, please do not shovel or blow snow into the street. Your cooperation reduces the time required to plow all streets, which in turn reduces overtime costs and your taxes.

Helpful tip: Piling snow to the right side of the driveway can help reduce the amount of snow pushed back into the driveway. Standing in the driveway and looking at the street determines the right side.

Need help?Learn more about the Snow Angels Program via the Services and Facilities page

Sod, pavement, trees and mailboxes are sometimes damaged by our snow-plowing equipment. If this happens to your property, please Report an Issue. We will repair the area that was damaged; we may add your address to our clean-up list to repair in the spring.

We subscribe to a weather service that provides updates four times daily. If a snow event is forecast, staff will begin patrols to monitor accumulation, perform anti-icing on select roads and ensure all snow removal equipment is ready to be dispatched. Salt is applied to main roads and a sand/salt mixture is applied to residential streets to prevent ice and snow from accumulating during the storm and reduce slippery conditions.
Every fall, our staff receives training in winter maintenance to learn best practices and ensure optimal service levels for residents.