Where’s my plow? City of Ottawa working on tool to allow residents to track snowplows

City of Ottawa snowplows clear snow from a residential street after the 70 cm of snow the capital received over a five-day period. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)

As Ottawa residents wait for snowplows to clear the streets after the biggest winter storm of the season, the city is working on a new app that will allow residents to track plows during storms.

Coun. Tim Tierney says the City of Toronto uses a tool called ‘Geotab,’ which provides live data on snowplow operations, and the city is testing it for rollout next winter.

“This will be live, interactive where you can see the plows and see how much work from sidewalks to the plows on the street,” Tierney told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.

• Ottawa digs out after biggest snowstorm of the season as more snow expected tonight

Tierney says ‘GeoTab’ is a “very successful app,” that shows you where snowplows are currently operating.

“It’s like ants all over the map,” Tierney said on Thursday.

“Over the next little while, we’ll be preparing to roll it out to the public at some point,” Tierney said.

“Right now, we’re allowing certain groups and certain plow agencies to have access to it, to be able to assist with the snow clearing.”

The City of Ottawa previously used an application called “Where is My Plow,” which allowed residents to find out when their streets would be plowed. The web tool was launched in 2015 and scrapped in 2016.

The City of Toronto’s website has a section called ‘PlowTO Map,” which shows recent snow-clearing activity, including plows that are out. PlowTO shows if a road has been cleared less than four hours ago and between four and eight hours ago.

When are Ottawa’s roads plowed?

The City of Ottawa says snow clearing is done using a road priority system, with high-use and transit roads cleared first.

Here is a look at when roads are plowed:

At the start of accumulation:

• Highway 174, the Transitway, major roads and arterials.
• After the last snowflake has fallen, these routes may take two to four hours to complete.

2.5 centimetres accumulation:

• Sidewalks in the downtown core and the winter cycling network
• After the last snowflake has fallen, these routes may take up to four hours to complete

5 centimetres accumulation:

• Secondary roads and minor collectors such as Wall Road, Dovercourt Avenue, Donald Street, Springbrook Drive, etc.
• After the last snowflake has fallen, these routes may take up to six hours to complete

5 centimetres accumulation:

• Residential sidewalks
• After the last snowflake has fallen, these routes may take 12 to 16 hours to complete

7 or more centimetres of accumulation

• Residential roads and lanes such as Billings Bridge, Waverley Street, Smith Road, etc.
• After the last snowflake has fallen, these routes may take 10 to 16 hours to complete.