While a famous quote suggests 'nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes', in north Simcoe it could be rewritten as ‘death and taxes and complaints about winter’.
And while the quote has been attributed to both Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin, some Midland residents aren’t happy with the third part of the equation and the effect it’s had on what they believe to be lacklustre snow-clearing efforts by the town.
Residents have sent in multiple complaints to MidlandToday and dozens regularly pour out their frustrations on social media regarding the state of both roads and sidewalks located throughout the municipality.
“I have lived in Midland for over 30 years and I have never seen the road maintenance as bad as it is now,” local resident Bob Kwapis told MidlandToday.
“The sidewalk plow when it comes around does a terrible job leaving ruts and icy conditions. The roads are just as bad.”
MidlandToday went looking for answers and received a response from Mitch Sobil, the town’s executive director of infrastructure management and engineer.
“With over 270 kilometres of roadway and 130km of sidewalks to maintain, Midland’s relatively small crew and fleet operates as efficiently as possible to ensure roads are clear within 24 hours after a snowfall,” Sobil says.
“There may be a general perception that this winter is an exception given the amount of snowfall we have received, however the reality is the previous two winters (2022 and 2023) were the exception.”
Another MidlandToday reader notes that as a regular walker, he was initially delighted when the town unveiled its new sidewalk blows, but has since been disappointed.
"For whatever reason, these new machines are set up in such a way as to leave six to eight inches of snow on the sidewalk - and then to grind it to a salty, slippery, semi-slush with multiple large heavy-treaded tires," he says. "The result makes walking, not only tiresome, but treacherous."
Kwapis, meanwhile, noted that after receiving a few centimetres of snow recently, the plow didn’t bother moving the snow, but rather just sanded the road. That was followed by warmer weather and melting snow, which eventually froze when cold weather returned causing ruts and making the streets more dangerous to drive on, according to Kwapis.
He added: “The height of snow at the intersections prevents clear sight at stop signs.”
But Sobil says the town has seen more snowfall in the short span between late 2024 and January than the previous two winters.
“Compounding that, snowfall has been consistent this year, with snow falling sometimes day after day. This poses a challenge for town roads crews as their priority is snow plowing operations, which delays road cleanup operations (removal of snow from the downtown, parking lots, cul-de-sacs, and boulevards).”
According to Sobil, clearing is maintained to the Minimum Maintenance Standards, a provincial regulation that dictates when municipalities must maintain the roads and how long after a snowfall has stopped that certain classifications of roads need to be plowed.
“Under the maintenance standards, priority roads are the main arterial routes through town, which include emergency routes and school zones, then collector roads, followed by local roads (subdivision streets),” Sobil says, noting local roads are all plowed on a secondary priority basis depending on the nature of the road, the number of homes on the road and the type of equipment required to plow it.
For example, most cul-de-sacs are plowed by loaders, not plow trucks.
“Once a snowstorm has ended it typically takes town crews 24 to 48 hours to complete the cleanup process, but if snowfall continues that cleanup cannot start,” Sobil says.
“For example, it is easier and faster for crews to maintain and clean up roads if we receive 30 centimetres of snow in one day versus 10 centimetres of snow each day over three days.”
Sobil says the latter part of this scenario is essentially what locals have been experiencing so far for this winter.
“During cleanup operations, the first priorities are the downtown areas followed by removal of snow from parking lots, known sight line issues at intersections and boulevards with limited snow storage available,” he says.
“Residents can also assist the operations team with the cleanup process by adhering to overnight parking restrictions and removing their vehicles from roads and parking lots so that crews can tidy up the roads and lots during the overnight hours.”
The town’s current fleet includes six combination plow/sander/salter trucks, one dedicated sander/salter, two loaders that provide full-time snow removal, one loader that provides part-time snow removal and five sidewalk plows.
“The town strives to keep a well-maintained and modern fleet, guided by a detailed asset management plan and a detailed 10-year capital plan for replacement of fleet,” Sobil adds.
Sobil says that every vehicle has telematics equipment installed onboard, which controls and tracks the vehicle during operations, providing information on vehicle speed, sand/salt usage, plow usage and other information to enhance operational efficiency.
“The town is also in the process of investigating additional technologies that will take certain aspects of operation to the next level,” he says.
“The town is proactive about providing information to the public about winter operations.”
According to Sobil, the winter maintenance page on the town’s website includes helpful information on the town’s snow removal responsibilities, a list of frequently asked questions, safety tips and a downloadable winter maintenance fact sheet.
Additionally, the town offers a “Where’s My Plow” tracker on its website with Sobil noting “this gives the public an opportunity to see where snow removal equipment has been over the last 24 hours.”
Sobil encourages residents with concerns regarding winter maintenance or safety concerns to contact the town’s customer service team by email at [email protected], by phone at (705) 526-4275 or submit an online service request.