AMA struggling to keep up with high demand during blizzard
Posted Dec 3, 2013 2:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Anyone who locks themselves out of their vehicle, needs a jump, or even a tow, may find themselves out of luck for now.
The Alberta Motor Association is dealing with unprecedented wait times here in southern Alberta.
Don Szarko with AMA said they’ve been forced to institute a policy about emergency tows only.
“We’re going to deal with the people that are stranded, mothers with children on the freeway, high-risk situations first,” he said. “But for a normal tow or a boost or something like that if your vehicle is at home, we’re sorry but it’s going to take 14 to 16 hours.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, AMA had 800 people in queue just waiting for an operator, which is eight times the number of calls they’d usually get this time of year.
Szarko added they’ve re-deployed some drivers, calling in contractors and calls the situation minute by minute.
“It is what it is, it’s one of those massive snowstorms that hit us in Alberta and this isn’t going to be the last one,” he said. “The roads are in some of the worst conditions we’ve ever seen, quite a few closures on two-lane roads, so it really suggests to people maybe they shouldn’t be travelling.”
Another option for vehicles stalled on priority one routes such as Crowchild, Glenmore and Deerfoot Trails, as well as Memorial Drive, is the City of Calgary’s roving tow truck program.
That’s where city crews roam the routes during regular maintenance and if they see a car stalled or abandoned, they cart them away to a safer location away from heavy traffic.
Jennifer Thompson-Goldberg with the City said with multiple cameras on those roads, a truck can be notified from the Traffic Management Centre to get to a specific spot.
“So it does happen fairly instantaneously, but again in these conditions, there will be delays,” she said.
As for stalled or abandoned vehicles on smaller routes, the City does not have roving tow trucks and Thompson-Goldberg is encouraging drivers to always be prepared by having sufficient gas, windshield wiper fluid and make sure lights and windshields are clear.
