2024-01-16 15:29:34
Certainly, snow transforms our urban landscapes into magnificent white settings, but it represents a significant challenge for cities. Whether from a logistical or security point of view, snow impacts the daily lives of citizens. Faced with snowfall, municipalities are deploying rigorous snow removal plans to maintain the flow of traffic and ensure the safety of their residents.
What are the effects of snow on urban infrastructure?
In the event of storms or snowfall, the consequences are numerous and vary depending on the type of urban infrastructure.
Roads, pavements, sidewalks
Snowfall and snow drifts make roads difficult for cars, buses and pedestrians to pass. Indeed, the roads are slippery and visibility decreases, which increases the danger. This disrupts normal traffic, causes delays and road accidents. Related public transport (metro, train, etc.) may also be affected by a massive influx of people who can no longer use their cars or bus networks.
Emergency services, Samu, firefighters, are also impacted by the state of the roads and traffic. If these emergency services struggle to travel, it is the assistance to vulnerable people who ultimately suffers.
Pedestrians, particularly the elderly and those with reduced mobility, must also be particularly vigilant to avoid falling and injuring themselves.
Traffic signs and traffic lights
Even if the roads remain passable, snow can hide, or even bury, road signs and traffic lights, which represents an additional danger for users. Municipal departments must strive to keep this equipment clear and operational to maintain driver safety.
Electrical networks
Snow can cause power outages due to its weight on power lines. Ice also damages electrical infrastructure. Several preventive measures can be considered, such as pruning trees to prevent branches from breaking under the weight of the snow and falling onto the lines. Insulating electrical equipment with insulating and anti-icing materials or manual snow removal from power lines with special poles are also options.
Buildings
Snow accumulation on building roofs can lead to overloading problems, especially if the snow is wet and heavy. This causes roofs to sag, leaks or even partial collapses.
Sanitation networks
As the snow melts, the flow of water will put a strain on rainwater sanitation systems. Melting snow can cause flooding if sewers become clogged with snow or if pipes do not work properly.
Snow removal from roads and sidewalks is mandatory
In the event of a storm or heavy snowfall, snow removal from city roads and sidewalks is mandatory. To anticipate these phenomena and implement preventive actions, meteorological services monitor forecasts daily. Each city has set its own weather thresholds. If a snowstorm is forecast, it is up to municipal services to decide, based on the snow cover and forecasts, to activate their snow removal plan.
The goal is to minimize snow drifts and ice, particularly on roads and in public spaces. In addition to maintaining the flow of traffic, these snow removal plans also ensure the safety of citizens. In these snow removal plans, we will classify the roads according to their importance and their use.
To define priority areas, the city will take into account the location of schools, hospitals, evacuation routes, etc. Logically, we first clear the main arteries with imposing snow plows. Next, secondary roads and sidewalks are treated with more compact equipment as well as snow blowers that can be used in tighter spaces.
The snow removal plan specifies the necessary operations
Cities must provide the necessary equipment for snow removal, such as snow plows, salt spreaders and snow blowers. They must also recruit sufficient staff and possibly train them on the use of the equipment. The plan also indicates the location of salt and sand warehouses, snow removal equipment and also the locations where the collected snow will be deposited.
The plan of course specifies the procedures to follow in the event of emergency situations: evacuation of certain areas and coordination with emergency services. The snow removal plan must be shared with the entire population concerned in the territory so that they can adapt to snow removal operations, prepare alternative routes and apply safety instructions.
In all cases, meteorological monitoring is essential, before, during and after the event, in order to intervene quickly in the event of further snowfall.
Salt and sand used to clear snow
The use of salt and sand is a common practice in city snow removal operations. They are used to prevent the formation of ice, improve vehicle grip on snow-covered roads and facilitate snow removal. Depositing salt and sand can be done before, during and after a snowstorm:
The dosage of salt and sand is controlled to avoid damaging the environment. Indeed, excess salt can have harmful effects on waterways and soils. Sand is often used in combination with salt for several reasons. Although it does not have a melting effect, it improves grip on roads by creating a rough surface. Furthermore, sand is sometimes more economical and will have less impact on nature than salt.
Snow management in the city is not limited to a simple task of clearing, but encompasses a multitude of actions to be implemented. Both for maintaining the mobility and safety of residents, and for preserving the environment. The snow removal plan remains an essential strategy to mitigate the impacts of snow and maintain the smooth functioning of city life.
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