Councillors in Metro Vancouver call for 'snow summit' to better prepare for snowstorms
CBC
Two Metro Vancouver councillors are trying to organize a "snow summit" that would bring together municipal leaders, provincial officials, transit authorities and maintenance contractors to discuss how to co-ordinate and improve the region's response to major snowfalls.
Surrey Coun. Linda Annis and New Westminster Counc. Daniel Fontaine co-signed a letter on Thursday, calling for an analysis of the breakdowns that choked Metro Vancouver roads and highways during the snowstorm earlier in the week.
They are asking George Harvey, chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, and B.C. Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming to bring municipal officials, leaders and transportation agencies like ICBC together for a meeting.
On Tuesday, 20 centimetres of snow blanketed municipalities across B.C.'s South Coast, causing major traffic congestion and vehicle pileups, effectively paralyzing road transportation in the Lower Mainland.
"Winters are getting colder and colder," she told CBC News when asked what she wanted discussed at the summit.
"Do we have enough budget allocated? Do we have enough equipment and manpower to be able to handle these snowstorms?
"The cities weren't prepared, the province wasn't prepared, nor were the residents," added Annis, who spent around eight hours getting home from Vancouver to South Surrey Tuesday night.
"I think we need to come together as a group and deal with this, so we can be proactive in the future to avoid a similar circumstance."
In the letter, Fontaine said the snowstorm "wasn't a surprise."
"But the impact was a complete shutdown that closed roads and bridges and really brought much of the Lower Mainland to a complete halt," the letter reads.
"I think it's important to know why, and to work on a regional plan that does better next time. This has to be a combined effort of the province and local municipalities across the Lower Mainland."
Tony Aung, one of many drivers stranded on an eastbound section of Highway 91, says he was on the highway around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday when traffic started to slow down.
Collisions and pileups had forced a shutdown of one side of the Alex Fraser Bridge, which connects South Vancouver with New Westminster, Delta and Richmond.
It didn't start fully moving again until after 3 a.m. the following morning.
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