It's been a tougher than usual winter, weather wise, but Mount Pearl's municipal workers are coping well with the challenges, according to councillor Jim Locke, who chairs the City's Public Works committee.
"They've been quite busy over the past couple of weeks," Locke reported to council last week. “ "Our crews have been and continue to work 24/7 to clean up from the most recent weather episodes."
The work includes widening streets and sidewalks in some areas with snowblowers, clearing snow from around fire hydrants, and removing the mini mountains of snow that sometimes get stacked in cul-de-sacs during storms.
"We're received numerous compliments for the snow clearing operations from residents in various parts of the city," Locke said. "I know we had some hiccups when we had freezing rain and quick temperature changes, but they were quickly addressed. So, our crews have definitely been busy and we're pleased with the work that they're doing."
Locke said the department is also committed to keeping the City’s outdoor rinks operational. They were put out of commission for a while because of the mix of snowstorms mingled with spates of heavy rain that hit the Avalon in February.
"Our trail grooming is ongoing," added Locke. "I was out for a walk a couple of days back and had the pleasure of meeting one of our employees driving the groomer and again he mentioned the compliments he gets from all the walkers. They do a great job on the trails around the city."
Road maintenance is also ongoing as much as possible, Locke said.
"We're not doing any major road work, but with the freezing and thawing we get these potholes that quickly appear," he said. "If there's some significant potholes brought to our attention, our crews will certainly be out working to repair those where possible."
And finally, Locke noted that thanks to the leak detection system the City implemented several years ago, Mount Pearl residents are among the lowest water users in the province and probably in Canada per capita. "We've been very aggressive with our leak detection," he said, noting a benefit of that is that it helps the water levels at the regional supply at Big Bulls Big Pond stay at a good height.
Mayor Dave Aker asked Public Works director Glen Dollimount to pass on the thanks of council for doing such a good job of coping with four seasons worth of weather in one month.
