Calgary battles difficult road conditions after storm
Posted Mar 4, 2013 7:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Highways are back open after a massive snowstorm walloped the Calgary area.
City police were forced to shut down several roads in the city because of Sunday’s snowstorm, while Mounties in several towns were advising people not to drive at all.
When all was said and done, Calgary police dealt with nearly 200 crashes; at least 15 of those resulting in injuries.
Emergency crews had to deal with several crashes, including two spinouts, on Deerfoot Trail during the Monday morning commute.
Some sections of the QEII were down to two lanes, as drivers navigated snowy conditions.
All available plows and sanders were out, trying to clear the snow away from the major routes.
Kelly Dyer with the Roads Department tells 660News until vehicles are available to tackle secondary routes, it makes no sense to announce a parking ban along snow routes.
“The focus is the priority one routes, and the snow ban routes are mainly on priority two routes and collector routes, so a decision has been made and we will notify the public if they decide to call a parking ban,” Dyer says.
Now that the bulk of snow has fallen, crews will have a better opportunity to get caught up and improve traction especially on the priority one roads.
Local cab companies are expecting a busy day, with people looking for rides.
Customers are being asked to be patient because taxi drivers can only drive as fast as the road conditions, and those conditions are less than ideal.
Operations at Calgary International Airport also appear back to normal, after a number of flights were cancelled Sunday because of the storm; a couple of flights Monday morning arriving from Lethbridge and Medicine Hat were also cancelled.
Flyers are being urged to contact their carrier before heading to the terminal, and to give themselves a little extra time to drive to the airport.
