Update: Jan. 5, 5 p.m. -
City crews will be extending clearing hours until 11 p.m, and now that the snowfall has eased off, they are hoping to make a lot of headway according to a release from the City of Penticton.
The goal is to clear Priority 1 and 2 roads, and begin residential streets (Priority 3) as well. Morning crews will begin at 3 a.m. to continue with residential streets. Additional crews and equipment will be dispatched to Downtown Penticton to clear Main and Martin Street stalls while there's no cars, and key parking lots. Once those are complete, then work will begin on bus stops and pull-outs.
Residents who were scheduled to have curbside collection on Monday whose items were not picked up are asked to hold their garbage for one week. They can place their items out for next Monday's pickup, and the two bag limit will not apply. Depending on road conditions, regular collection will resume on Tuesday, depending on road conditions. For information about curbside collection service, call 250-490-3888.
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All available crews are at work digging out city streets.
Efforts are being focused on Priority 1 areas like main roads, steep hills and emergency corridors, then will shift to Priority 2 areas such as industrial streets, school zones and collector routes, the City of Penticton said in a press release Monday.
“Given the significant snowfall continues this morning, it’s likely crews will have to circle back and do these (Priority 1) routes again before moving onto Priority 2 areas,” said spokesperson Simone Blais
Five sand trucks, two pickup trucks, three ATVs, a grader and a loader, plus all available manpower, are on the job.
Public transit and school buses are running in Penticton, but not in Summerland, although schools throughout the region are open.
“We’ll carry on as best as we can, given the situation,” said Okanagan Skaha School District 67 superintendent Wendy Hyer.
Meanwhile, another 10 centimetres of snow is expected Monday before tapering off near midnight.
If it materializes, it will break the record for most snowfall on this date, which was set in 1983, when 9.8 cm of the white stuff hit the ground.
A winter storm warning remains in effect, although a high of 4 C is expected by Tuesday.
“The Arctic air in the valley bottoms of the Southern Interior is being slowly mixed with milder air moving in at the level of the mountain-tops,” Environment Canada said in a special weather statement.
“With more overrunning warm and moist air expected and temperatures persisting below zero in the valleys, freezing rain may develop Tuesday."