It’s snow problem: Dealing with all that white stuff in Nunavut’s capital

Matthew Hamp, the City of Iqaluit’s director of engineering and public works, explains the city’s process for deciding when to reopen services after a storm at a city council meeting Dec. 12. (PHOTO BY BETH BROWN)

There’s no business like snow business in Iqaluit this winter.

Given that Iqaluit has been shut down by seven weather events in the last few months, Matthew Hamp, director of engineering and public works for the City of Iqaluit, gave city councillors a run down on just how his department deals with storms, during a council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 12.

“The city is mindful of the impact suspension of service has on residents and does its best to resume service as quickly as possible,” and to provide as much advanced notice as possible at convenient times during a work day, Hamp said.

Hamp’s presentation on the city’s snow-clearing process continues a discussion Coun. Kyle Sheppard initiated at the last meeting of council, Nov. 28.

“We’re preventing our kids from going to school. It’s absolutely ridiculous as a northern capital that our kids couldn’t go to school this afternoon because our roads weren’t cleared,” Sheppard said, following an overnight storm that began Nov. 27.

Sheppard was not able to attend the Dec. 12 meeting, but Hamp’s presentation responded to Sheppard’s request that council be more informed on storm response, so that any inefficiencies in city practices for snow clearing could be addressed before another big snow dump.

“Response to each of these seven weather events has run smoothly and without incident,” Hamp said, adding that staff always have to take into account the safety of city workers, as well as residents holed up at home.

“A lot of the heavy equipment cabs are six feet off the ground. If you have high winds—despite the fact that once you’re in a vehicle you might feel safe—getting into, and out of, that vehicle can be dangerous,” he said.

Hamp said city decision-makers consider the following when deciding whether to resume city services:

• would restoring service result in “residents returning to roads that are not adequately prepared for a sudden influx of traffic”?

• what is the likelihood that bad weather will start again?

• what is the state of visibility, drifting snow, ice build-up, etc.?

• how much time is needed to clear roads, apply sand and make intersections and road signs visible?

• how much time is needed for road workers to get to work and warm up their vehicles?

• how many vehicles are stuck on the roads?

“The city may remain in a state of closure or limit services until such time as side streets, cul-de-sacs, secondary roads and walkways can be addressed,” Hamp said.

Coun. Terry Dobbin asked why roads sometimes remain dangerous even when the weather is fine.

“During the mild spurt, a lot of people were saying that there was a lack of sand on the intersections … people were saying that the roads weren’t sanded properly,” Dobbin said.

Hamp, who asked residents to pay attention to road conditions and drive accordingly, said: “We had an unusual freezing rain event that caused a lot of ice build-up in the roads.

“[Freezing rain] is making it very difficult for sand to stay on the roads. We are applying the same amount of sand that we usually do. The issue is, it’s not sticking the way that it usually does … all we can do is keep applying it.”

On the issue of storms, Coun. Joanasie Akumalik said that just because visibility has improved during a storm, it doesn’t mean it’s safe to go out.

“A lot of times we forget about the safety issue. People are complaining that the city is shut down and there is no blizzard. But it is safety we need to educate more people about. Safety during a blizzard is more important than visibility,” he said.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to make everybody happy when it comes to blizzard announcements.”

But communication on storm closures between the city and Iqaluit businesses has improved greatly, Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson said.

“I see businesses shutting down when the city shuts down in a way that is very responsible and shows that we are working together as a group.”

Stevenson, who has previously been involved with decisions on when to shut down schools, said he believes it is better to risk an unnecessary storm day than to risk residents’ safety.

“Nobody has been hurt and we are making sure people are safe,” he said.

“It’s really important that people are off the roads so that when the event ends, we can fix the roads as quickly as possible. One of the things that hinders us is the fact that there are cars all over the road because people went out when they shouldn’t have.”