Looking to respond in a more timely and efficient manner, the city of Moose Jaw has revised its winter maintenance policy.

The new policy was approved by City Council on October 15 – and this is the first change to the winter maintenance policy since 2011.

Director of Engineering with the city of Moose Jaw, Josh Mickelborough.

"We'll have snow-clearing and moving operations going essentially around the clock when we have a major snow event. What council approved was the addition of a night shift which should result in a noticeable improvement to clearing operations."

"Some of the other changes were adjustments to our priority streets. Priority 1 streets, which are generally our major arterial roads will be addressed within the first 24 hours of a major snow event. The priorities will then shift to major collectors and bus routes which will be cleared within 48 hours."

Mickelborough goes on to say that the city wants to focus on communicating and sharing their snow strategy and route maps with residents.

"We're working on improving the communication around our efforts. Things are quite dynamic in a snow event so we want to make sure that we are taking steps to ensure that people are aware of the activities underway. Part of that includes making those maps publicly available as to where we are and what we are up to in a snow event."

The city is also aware of the concern about blocked parking and snow on the sides of roads after clearing – but say that residents need to understand clearing roads is the cities first priority, with hauling the snow away coming second.