No room in the budget for costly changes to snow clearing operations, Toronto’s city manager says

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s executive committee is taking a deep dive into changes needed to improve snow removal resources. Beth Macdonell has the details.

Toronto’s city manager says costly models to improve snow removal during the winter months are simply not in the budget after an independent review suggested the municipality drop up to $130 million to improve snow clearing operations.

The review, conducted by Municipal VU Consulting Inc., was ordered by the city in the wake of widespread issues with winter maintenance operations during back-to-back major snow events in February.

In a report that is headed to Mayor Olivia Chow’s executive committee this week, City Manager Paul Johnson did not recommend the city adopt any of the models recommended in the independent report.

“Given Toronto’s climate – where major snowstorms of sufficient scale to trigger full removal operations do not occur every winter – this report does not recommend engaging in specific snow removal models due to the cost,” he wrote.

“Instead, when snow removal is required in the remaining years of the existing winter maintenance contracts, the City will utilize existing resources (contracted and in-house) with improvements in place that strengthen performance and operational readiness in combination with surge resources.”

Johnson suggests the creation of a winter and seasonal services section, which would include a “dedicated Winter Services Unit.”

The unit would require 18 more staff members, including 10 new and eight existing positions that will be repurposed. An additional $1.3 million would be required to establish the unit, which will be considered within the 2026 budget process.

“It is expected that incremental program improvements will be realized each year going forward. During the remaining contract years, lessons learned will inform the development of the future winter maintenance contracts,” the report read.

“The current cost estimate for snow removal modelled by MVU range in costs of up to $130 million, for which there is no additional funding available within the City’s Operating Budget. Any enhancements to the winter maintenance program will be considered in a future budget process.”

The city manager added that work on the development of the remaining recommendations is “ongoing” and staff will continue work to finalize the its response plan for major snow events.

To take on a more “proactive approach,” snow removal will now begin after eight centimetres of accumulation at “high-priority locations” where snow storage capacity could hinder safety, transit, or emergency services.

In the past, snow removal was more “reactive” and began when snow piles caused blockages or storage was at capacity.

The city has also added 25 new pieces of equipment to its fleet since the summer, including six front-end loaders, five sidewalk plows, 12 snow blowers, and two snow melters.

In a letter to executive committee, Mayor Olivia Chow wrote that the current system has “failed residents.”

“For too long, people have waited for snow clearing that comes too late. City reports didn’t match what people actually saw on their streets,” she wrote.

“The old approach didn’t work, and we’re fixing it. We’re making big changes now for this winter and planning long-term improvements.”

She noted one the changes include plans to “end the 311 blackout period” that previously prevented residents from making winter service requests during snowstorms.

People should be able to report snow problems right away. We’ll end the blackout period so you can call 311 immediately. A new Digital Command Center will handle complaints in real time and identify areas that need extra help.