City Services during Snow Storms

Municipal child care centres located in TDSB schools are currently closed. All parents whose children attend these child care centres have been contacted and have been offered care at other centres. City staff have been redeployed to other City-run child care centres to ensure that staff-child ratios are met. The City has no child care centres in TCDSB schools.

City-operated recreation programs, including swim classes, at TDSB and TCDSB school locations are cancelled today. Additional classes will be added where possible, or refunds will be made for cancellations at these locations.

Recreation programs and permits at Parks, Forestry and Recreation community centres and facilities continue to operate as usual. Residents may wish to contact their local centre for any program specific updates.

The City's outdoor rinks are affected by weather conditions. Staff and snow-clearing equipment travel from location to location and best efforts are underway to clear the ice as quickly as possible. Snow clearing is in progress and rinks will open throughout the day. Call 311 or visit the City's website for up-to-date information on current conditions: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/skating/outdoor-rinks.htm

The City's ski and snowboard centres at Earl Bales Park and Centennial Park are open as usual and their programs are running.

Toronto Island Ferry Service is running on schedule.

City of Toronto reminds residents about garbage collection in snow conditions

With the snow storm conditions predicted for the Toronto area, the City of Toronto is reminding residents receiving curbside collection that they can still set out their garbage, recycling or Green Bin on their regularly scheduled collection day.
Depending on road conditions, it may take a little longer to service the regular routes, however, it will be business as usual for collection crews.
Residents should also remember to find a clearly visible and accessible area to put out bins for collection. Bins should be as close as possible to the street, without blocking it or the sidewalk. If necessary, shovel out a spot for your bins.

City of Toronto reminds residents about its level of snow clearing service

With a sizeable snowfall expected over the next few days, the City of Toronto is reminding residents and businesses about the levels of snow clearing the City provides.

Large snowfalls require a coordinated approach by the City’s staff and contractors to ensure that City streets and sidewalks are safe.  The City’s general levels of service are as follows.

As soon as the snow begins, Transportation Services sends out its fleet of salt trucks to the expressways and the main roads.  After this, the salt trucks will then move on to the local roads.  If the City receives five centimetres of snow, the plows are sent to the expressways and main roads and plowing will take place for the duration of the storm.

When the snow stops and if the snow accumulation reaches eight centimetres, plows will be sent to the local roads.  Normally, local road plowing will be completed between 14 and 16 hours after the storm has ended.

The City will clear snow from sidewalks on local roads where it is mechanically possible to do so after eight centimetres (or after five centimetres in January and February) of snow has fallen.  In the central core of the city, property owners are required to clear their sidewalks of snow within 12 hours after a storm has taken place.   To learn more about sidewalk snow clearing in Toronto and to view a map of where the service takes place, visit http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/snow/sidewalks.

The City of Toronto’s levels of service for snow clearing meet or exceed those set by the Province of Ontario for municipalities and road authorities.  These levels of service were adopted by City Council in 2009.

Residents who have questions about snow clearing efforts in their area can call  311.

The City has 600 snow plows, 300 sidewalk plows and 200 salt trucks ready to tackle the winter season.

City News Releases can be viewed on the City's website.