This is the first in a planned annual cycle of reporting on winter operations from the previous season and updating about improvements for the upcoming winter season. This is a new commitment that will provide better transparency on the Transportation Services Division's performance for winter operations and provide insights around operational efforts and efficiencies. This report provides the first Annual Winter Maintenance update for the 2023 - 2024 winter season and outlines improvements being planned for the 2024 - 2025 winter season operations, including pilot testing, training, improved contract administration, and community events. The final section of this report is an update on advancements to the Major Snow Event Response Plan, formerly known as the Extreme Winter Weather Plan. The Major Snow Event Response Plan addresses weather events which result in significant snow accumulation beyond what Toronto typically experiences. This accumulation creates obstructions in the right of way, primarily due to insufficient space to store the snow at roadsides and in boulevards. Storms of this magnitude have a much greater impact on the transportation infrastructure, and by extension on the public, and such events cannot be fully addressed within the Council-approved levels of service for a normal snowfall. The renaming to “Major Snow Event Response Plan” instead of “Extreme Winter Weather Plan” reflects that this plan does not address the full range of extreme winter weather (e.g. ice storms, flash flooding, etc.) which are more effectively addressed under Toronto Emergency Management's Extreme Winter Weather Coordination Plan. Developments on the Major Snow Event Response Plan includes a Vision, Guiding Principles, Prioritization Framework, updated processes to action the Framework, and a Communication Plan. This Plan will be a dynamic document, with review and updates after each new major snow event to iteratively drive continuous improvement. Next action items for staff will be to develop new priority route maps, assign updated snow removal operations for contractors and in-house staff, and create a formal communication plan to proactively inform the general public during a storm regarding timelines and removal operations. This report seeks approval to make amendments to the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 950, Traffic and Parking, as it relates to “major snow storm conditions”, including when they can be declared. In addition, the report requests City Council to amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 937, Temporary Closing of Highways, as well as City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 27, Council Procedures, in order to delegate to the General Manager, Transportation Services, the authority to temporarily close to vehicular traffic any highway or portion of highway to facilitate efficient snow removal operations. Any temporary road closures under this proposed delegated authority will be for up to and including 24 hours for each and any individual temporary closure between November 8 of one year and April 7, inclusive, of the following year.
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