Guide
Which roads are plowed first, which sidewalks the Town clears, windrows, and who to call.
Town crews clear main arterial roads first, then collector roads, then residential and rural roads, aiming to finish within 24 hours after a storm ends. They clear about 160 km of designated sidewalks within 24 to 48 hours, but not every sidewalk. The Town has no windrow program for seniors, and snow concerns go to Public Works at 905-873-2600, ext. 2603.
The Town's Public Works staff keep its more than 1,000 km of roads and 160 km of maintained sidewalks passable in winter, and the Town also clears the Regional roads that run through Halton Hills. The work follows the Province's Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.
Plowing goes by priority. First come main arterial roads, such as Mountainview Road, Guelph Street and Trafalgar Road in Georgetown or Main and Mill streets in Acton, which are salted and plowed to bare pavement. Next are collector roads, also taken to bare pavement. Residential and rural roads come last, once the first two are clear. When every street needs plowing, the Town aims to finish within 24 hours after the storm ends; heavy or back-to-back storms can take longer.
Residential and rural roads are not salted to bare pavement, so some snowpack should be expected; they are sanded where needed for traction, usually on hills, curves and intersections, and sanded continuously only in freezing rain or icy conditions. The Town says salting every residential road would take much more equipment and salt, at higher cost and with more harm to the environment, and its Salt Management Plan exists to limit salt use.
Only if it is a designated sidewalk. The Town maintains about 160 km of sidewalks and pathways, just over half of those in the community, chosen under By-law 2007-0003: mainly sidewalks on roads carrying more than 1,000 vehicles a day and sidewalks next to schools. It aims to clear them within 24 to 48 hours after a storm ends. Outside downtown areas they are usually sanded rather than salted.
The Town's Property Standards By-law requires owners of multi-residential, commercial, industrial and institutional properties to clear snow and ice from the sidewalks on their property.
No. Pushing snow to the side of the road to open a path for traffic is the Town's job, and the pile it leaves across a driveway, the windrow, is not cleared. To keep it smaller, clear your driveway snow toward the right side as you face the street. The Town has no snow-clearing program for seniors; seniors and people with disabilities who cannot arrange help can call Links to Care (905-873-6502 in Georgetown, 519-853-3310 in Acton), which looks for a contractor at the resident's expense.
No. Placing or pushing snow or ice onto a road breaks the Town's Highway Encumbrance By-law 2019-0008 and its by-law on fouling and encumbering public roads, and will result in a fine. Report a neighbour doing it to the Town's Community Standards line at 905-873-2600, ext. 2330.
The Town does not clear snow around fire hydrants; it asks neighbours to keep them clear.
Call Public Works at 905-873-2600, ext. 2603, to report a snow concern. The Town says residents are welcome to ask when their road or sidewalk will be cleared, but asks for patience while crews work through their routes. A snowbank blocking the view at an intersection can be reported too; that work is scheduled after snow removal is finished.
Yes. Tell Public Works, and staff will open a service request and schedule the mailbox repair or replacement. Where a sidewalk plow has damaged sod, Town staff add topsoil and seed in the spring; looking after the seeded area after that is up to the homeowner.
Town of Halton Hills
Winter Maintenance