Letter: Snow-plow method would save money, increase safety

By Letter to the Editor on April 23, 2025.

Dear editor,

I’m sure you have noticed the dusty, dirty, polluted, unhealthy springtime air in Medicine Hat caused by the thick layer of sand/dirt layered on city streets over the winter.

It is terribly unhealthy for city residents with any type of breathing, sinus or allergy conditions. These layers upon layers of sand/dirt on the roads do nothing to eliminate the problem – snow and then ice buildup on the roads. It results in packed snow and ice that create ruts on the road surface four or five inches deep. Those are very unsafe driving conditions.

Example: Two separate collisions on the 100 block of Sixth Street SE this past winter caused by deep icy ruts. One involved a truck; the other a city bus that was thrown out of control, resulting in jumping the curb and sidewalk and smashing into a city power pole. Much damage was caused to both the bus and the pole.

It is just pure luck there were no children walking on the sidewalk or we would be having a whole different discussion.

These ruts damage the suspension, tires, and rims on vehicles driving on these unsafe roadways.

A solution? Snow plows (current sanding trucks with the plow blade installed on the front) that can push the snow to the side of the road. Many cities use this method to keep their streets safe and their cities cleaner.

Currently, graders clear the snow from 13th Avenue SE and Kingsway Avenue. It results in excellent driving conditions all winter with a minimal amount of sand employed.

The capital cost of these plow blades would be far less expensive than all the vehicles used to dig the sand, transport it to the city stockpile, onto the roads and then, of course, after winter to remove it from the roads and even more trucks to dispose of the dusty mess.

I believe it’s prudent and past due for the city to do a cost analysis of the savings it could achieve by the snowplow method, then using sand sparingly at certain intersections.

Medicine Hat at one time did use snow plows on its trucks and there was no “dirty city” in the springtime. Many vehicles had worn tires with hardly any grip. Nowadays many vehicles have all-wheel drive with good snow tires, some studded, resulting in better control and traction in the winter.

For the good of all, including the taxpayer, a cost analysis should be done ASAP.

John MacLaren

Medicine Hat

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