(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Winter prep

City crews and businesses ready for winter wallop

Nov 9, 2021 | 5:00 PM

A layer of ice and snow will soon cover roadways and sidewalks across Prince Albert, which means Wednesday morning’s commute to work may be a bit slower.

Colin Fraser, owner of OK Tire, told paNOW they’ve been steady the last three to four weeks, helping people change over to winter tires.

“I anticipate though there are still lots of people that will wait for that last minute,” he said, adding since the first mention of snow a few days ago, they’ve been getting an influx of calls.

Reflecting though on the fact that last year’s first snowfall arrived much earlier, Fraser said he was encouraged to see people appearing more educated and getting their winter tires on before the rush.

“We’ve been trying to educate people about the plus 7 degrees and that’s the time you start changing tires over, not necessarily waiting for the first snowfall,” he said

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According to a recent poll conducted by paNOW, only nine per cent of respondents had, as of Tuesday afternoon, put on their winter tires. A further 67 per cent said they use the same tires all year round.

Local tire shops are expecting phones to begin ringing off the hook. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

Tuesday’s forecast from Environment Canada indicated the snow was expected to begin overnight and continue throughout the day on Wednesday before tapering off Thursday morning.

Between 10 and 20 cm is expected to fall in the Prince Albert region. Brent Kennedy, Roadways manager for the City of Prince Albert, assured that crews have been ready for quite a while, and will wait to see what happens through the night.

“We have a duty foreman on so he’ll check the roads and he’ll determine whether we need to bring people in earlier or if they’ll come in at 7:30 a.m.,” he said.

Kennedy added he expected the majority of the snow to melt away, but also acknowledged roads may be slick.

“I think that’ll be our biggest priority, depending on the temperature tonight, the sanders will probably be the first things getting out there,” he said.

Kennedy also reminded motorists to be patient when heading out on the roads and to keep a safe distance back from the sanders.

In the meantime, one of the businesses most excited about the impending snowfall is Fresh Air Experience. Owner Mike Horn explained they’ve been taking orders for the past month and a half. He attributed the demand to an “epic” winter last year and an increasing number of people out at Little Red River Park enjoying snowshoeing and the cross country ski trails.

“A lot of people came in to buy equipment last year and weren’t able to just because there was a lack of stock, so I think this year a lot of those people that missed out are shopping earlier,” he said.

Horn, who is also president of the Prince Albert Nordic Ski Club, said their membership numbers climbed from 359 in 2019 to 670 in 2020.

“It’s just crazy that many more people joining the club, using our trails and falling in love with the sport,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell