Annually, work crews clear:
- 3,986 lane kilometres of roads
- 2,462 transit stops
- 979 kilometres of sidewalks/walkways
- 205 kilometres of recreational trails
- 186 school crossing locations
- 86 City facility parking lots
Our road and sidewalk plowing distance is longer than a drive from Brampton to Yellowknife!
About Our Winter Operations
Winter in Brampton can bring snow, ice, freezing rain, and other severe conditions. Here’s what City crews do to help clear the way:
Snow Removal
The City of Brampton is responsible for servicing City-owned roads. In addition to plowing, we remove snow from Brampton Transit bus stops, bridge deck sidewalks, school crossings, walkways and when necessary, from the centre of courts. For more detailed information on our plowing operations, see our Levels of Service.
Anti-Icing
Before a winter event, 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.
Salting
Salt is an effective material for controlling snow and ice on roads. When warning of a snowfall or icing is received, 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.
Environmental Initiatives
The City also works diligently to reduce the impact of road salt and winter fleet emissions on the environment.
Anti-icing and Pre-wetting Equipment
This equipment can apply salt brine prior to a storm to prevent snow and ice from sticking to the road surface, and also pre-wet granular salt with salt brine to minimize road bounce. The amount of salt used is reduced by up to 30%, and cause less damage to roads, vehicles, property and the environment.
Combination Snow Plows
The City of Brampton uses combination snow plows that salt and plow at the same time, so one unit can do the job of two, resulting in less air pollution and vehicle maintenance.
Sandalwood Works Yard Improvements in Salt Storage
The Sandalwood Works Yard has a state-of-the-art winter materials storage facility, which has replaced the old wooden salt domes. This facility is approximately 24,000 square feet, and has the capacity to store 8,000 tonnes of salt and sand as well as a salt brine loading station. Salt brine is used both as an anti-icer applied to the road surface and to pre-wet granular salt.
The facility’s environmentally-friendly advantages include:
- Salt loading occurs indoors.
- Concrete floors and walls prevent chlorides from seeping into the ground.
- A membrane and weeping tiles under the facility offer added protection.
- Holding tanks below the floor collect the salt washed from vehicles, which is then reused in the salt brine manufacturing process.
