With more than 100 reports of people not clearing their sidewalks this week, the City of Edmonton is asking people to be diligent ahead of cooler temperatures. “The snow is now expected to stay and even though it’s just a thin coating, it can turn into ice quickly,” said Carrie Holstead, superintendent of general bylaw enforcement. “Those overnight temperatures can drop really quick, and the minute you start to get that buildup of ice, it can be very difficult to remove it.” She said it’s best to get in the habit of clearing your walks regularly. While getting ahead of the ice is a good practice, you might need to bring in reinforcements to battle the slick conditions. “There’s a lot of different ice melts,” said Wally MacDonald, store manager at KMS Tools in west Edmonton. “Ones that have calcium chloride in them are better for the colder temperatures. Magnesium chloride is usually a little cheaper, but it’s only good for -10 C to -15 C. “You could also use good, old-fashioned salt.” The manager said his store has been busy with people stockpiling snow removal goods like shovels, snow-blowers and ice melt. If you’re looking for a more pet-friendly ice melt, you can use something that’s potassium chloride based, advised MacDonald. CTV News Edmonton’s chief meteorologist Josh Classen says the slushy, sloppiness we’ve seen over the last two days is about to ice over with temperatures falling to around -8 C Friday morning. Failure to maintain your sidewalks could result in a $100 fine from the city plus the cost of snow removal. Last year saw 13,000 snow complaints which resulted in about 1,400 tickets issued, said Hollstead. She also warns that fines for not moving your vehicle during residential snow clearing are up to $250. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti and Josh Classen
