Simple solution just do thorough cleaning of the major streets, bus routes and schools and hills other than that basic clearing. And if the masses whine let them pay for the street cleaning.

Here’s a novel idea: Why not fund the snow clearing fund properly? Surely there is enough data to rely on to predict what might be needed in any given year.

How about not spending money stupidly elsewhere and fund the things that really matter. Prince George cannot not clear their roads; it’s a matter of life and death really.

Might I suggest We All show up at this Mondays council meeting and watch our City’s finest at work….maybe The citizens can Also get in on a photo op in showing our support on some of the Financial decisions our mayor and councilmen are making.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Contract it out

Same old, same old. Every year we hear the same crying for something that should have been fixed a very long time ago. I just happen to know of an extra 24 grand or so that could have gone into it.
When will this city administration ever wake up to the fact that we get winter and snow here and put enough money into the pot to take care of it? Stupid, stupid, stupid!!
Kind of reminds me of Dumb and Dumber.

How bout plow the roads when there is snow. I know I watched them do my street when it was pavement. HUH??

Wow, terrible fiscal management. If you put these city leaders in charge of a business where you were actually accountable for your actions they would disappear fast. These folks would even run a Tim Hortons into the ground. It snows every winter, and every winter its the same story with the snow removal budget.

Maybe we’re out of money because of the ridiculous way the city plows the streets.

My road went 2 weeks without snow removal after we got the big dump before Halloween, then when we got 1 or 2 CM a couple of weeks ago, a plow truck went by in two consecutive days.

How the hell does that work?

“I just happen to know of an extra 24 grand or so that could have gone into it.”
on a what, five million budget? That would cover an afternoon. Maybe. LOL

My cul-de-sac was cleared at 1 a.m., just before all the snow fell. It didn’t need clearing because it hadn’t been cleared for a long time and it was driveable due to being packed down. Now it is covered in deep, wet snow and won’t be done for a long time because they just did it, even though it didn’t need it.

I know everything works better with a schedule but ….

It’s always the same. Being Prince George, you’d think those that run this city would budget enough for road clearing. They never have, they never will, and all the griping in the world won’t change it. I drive around the snow covered streets with a general disdain for those in charge, a real dislike, and a wish for someone in office who’d take it seriously.

The City of PR George is 97 years old. So one of the things we should have learned in 97 years is that it snows in Pr George. Some years we get more snow then other years. So what is the problem? Budget for it and be efficient as possible. After 97 years of snow managing we should be pros, right ?

So this will leave PG with $250,000 in the snow removal budget for the rest of the year. Since there’s only a little over 2 weeks left in the year I’d say they did a pretty damn good job on the 2012 budget.

Maybe they should take the last of the budget and take everyone from the Mayor to the cleaning staff at city hall on a trip to China. Perhaps the Chinese will have a solution .

I did see snowplows on multiple occasions plowing 1 – 2 inches of snow off of my street and others. That might have something to do with it.

As someone else said, contract it out.

“As someone else said, contract it out.”

I have that exact same dream. There are a whole lot of efficiencies that could be realized if the city would start contracting out the work. Garbage, snow removal, parking enforcement, grass cutting, shoveling the mayor’s parking spot :), etc. etc. etc.

The continued savings would certainly be better than the one time boost to the coffers they’ll be getting by selling off their assets.

Hoo boy….I guarantee that if they contract out these things, the price for snow removal, garbage, and so on would increase dramatically. And where would the money come from? The taxpayer of course.

Be careful what you wish for….

It basically stopped snowing yesterday by lunch time.

I was driving Ospika and Tabor, as well as Westwood and dowtown.

The locl collector, first avenue was done nicely, as was downtown …. the rest, forget about it, espcially the intersections at the stopping sections which always creates these lovely bumpy sections which even a forestry road would not have.

Snow on streets such as that should be cleared within 24 hours, including the windrows unless we get a major dump. More is supposedly on the way.

If one is willing to accept 5 day turn around as the standard, it is the cheapest there is since one does not need as much equipment. The time on the road is still the same for the operators, except one does not have full time people in that case.

I think service is first and foremost. Then comes total cost. It is simply one of the costs of living in snow country.

Wanna build the tax base? Make the city livable for people who think snowclearing is one of the considerations when moving here rather than Kingston.

On one hand, we want the city to contract out snow removal, and then, on the other hand, we hear what a crappy job YRB does when there’s a lot of accidents on the highway. So I guess my question is, why would contracting out work well in the city, when it appears to have worked so poorly for the highways?

I have been driving south this winter on several occasions. I have not seen a difference.

The only thing I see is that there are too many trucks on the road.

Doesn’t the city contract out a large portion of this week already? I thought somebody told me there are private contractors already working along side the city crews.

And speaking of snow removal, why do the car dealers get to pile their snow on the strip of land beside the highway on central (across from their lot). That’s one way to avoid having to pay to use the city’s snow dump but it must create a heck of a mess for highways to clean up on the bld in the spring.

I can’t dump my snow on somebody else’s property so how come the auto dealers get to? Where are the city’s bylaw officers on cracking down on the auto dealers who seem to be able to do whatever they want.

“Where are the city’s bylaw officers”
hahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahaha
oh sorry, that wasnt a joke? I dont think we have bylaw officers anymore, just alot of bylaws. Go downtown in the morning and see how many vehicles are parked that the crews have had to plow around even though they are illegally parked. Why they are not just towed is beyond me…

I talked with a person today who had driven in yesterday from the Burns Lake area, they were driving to Prince George. The roads were in pretty good shape. They didn’t have to put in 4 wheel drive til they hit the roads of Prince George. That says a lot about the quality of road clearing in our area.

In addition, last week our road was plowed Monday and Wednesday when we had barely more then a dusting of snow. When is anyone going to be held accountable for how our road clearing services are run??? It’s obvious why we are out of money. Plow when we have snow, don’t use the service as a make work project when we don’t.

I have to throw my hat in with,dow7500 ,bornandbred & JohnnyBelt same happened on my street less than an inch of compact drivable snow and plowed 2 days in a row.

Yes contract out,Plow all roads in a pattern not necessarily bus routes major routes first.If it is done in an efficient methodical way the roads would not take as long to clear and maybe bus drivers might have to chain up for 1 or 2 days tops which only takes five minute to do.Save time and money and actually do what`s paid for.

They must be hoping for mann caused globull warming to cut in. Hey get rid of the electric golf kart and the hybrids there would be money into the snow budget. Hey maybe are stopping the warming, get rid of them no more snow.

Hey Todd Whitcombe quit worrying about the carbon footprint of bananas, where is the warming.

Snow removal equipment driving around? No snow? It’s called “putting on the hours”. It might be in the contract.

I’m willing to bet that all of us that had the twice a week plowing with little or no snow this last week don’t live in the same neighborhood either! City (mis)management SUCKS!!!

WOW I must say I’m absolutely shocked!! it’s less than 24 hours since the snow quit falling and a City plow truck just went by!!! Usually we wait for nothing less than 3 to 4 days!

Oil said when spealkimg about city council “These folks would even run a Tim Hortons into the ground.”

Great analogy, just too bad it is so close to the truth.

HarleyGuy72 your sadly way too on base! I know several city workers and know for a 100% fact years ago they went on a trip to japan to “study snow removal”?!?! Ummm do we not have enough snow in the great white north where they joke we live in igloos for them to “study”?!? Maybe save that money for the snow removal budget? As hear this same story very year, my street is actually home to about 15 city workers and sadly is never plowed, I’ve seen a plow only twice this year and I like previous comments saw them on days it was not needed. Is there no cash they can skim from the 2015 winter games fund or athlete approved advisory group, kin centre advancement project? I also agree with Cheetos, after 97 years it would be nice if they could figure this out & we were known to outsiders other then for our terrible roads, making high crime lists and always running out of snow removal funds. I come across a fair number of out of towners in my job and they all comment on these head lines.

They have thier priorities.

a. Bus Routes
b. Downtown business
c. Plow one day ahead of garbage pick-up.
d. Plow alleys
e. Plow parking lots, especially CN Centre.

Having said all that the City is way to big an area to be looked after efficiently. We have to drive all these extra miles just to find and then plow some of these sub divisions. Pr George has 1485 lane km of paved and gravel roads, and 177km of sidewalk that need to be plowed everytime there is a heavy snow.

These roads and sidewalks are scattered around a 10 mile radius of the City Centre.

Therein lies the problem. To big a space to look after, and to small a budget.

We need to downsize this City.

Quit plowing my road when there is no snow plow when there is save thousands!!!!!!

Why don’t we ask Colin Kinsley? As our Mayor he went to Japan but we have never heard any results regarding the trip nor has our situation changed any. Funny — we get less snow every year and our City can’t budget for it; regardless of who is in the mayoral chair.

If the city doesn’t plow your street do it yourself…..most of you have snow blowers. If everyone took care of the lane in front of your house the city could concentrate on the major routes.

If you ran a private business like this, the manager would be fired. This is what is all boils down to, proper management, real budgets. Fire the top, ask the workers for their input and start over.

You would’nt need snow removal if we had one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/v/XwpKjEa4LYY%26hl=en_US%26feature=player_embedded%26version=3

Calm down, there’s only 2 weeks left in the fiscal year.

Would just like to point out that the roads in the Haldi area are fabulous. I saw two plow trucks out yesterday. The’ve even plowed the street at empty property (also known as the old Haldi school)

Doesn’t Heather Oland (IPG)live in the Haldi area?

Hey, I got a great idea! We got a twin city out there somewhere, what say we hire some temporary workers to look after snow removal, they’d love to give it a shot, $10 bucks an hour, free room and board at the old Haldi road school, save tons of money…..well??? No???? Bummer. On to the Dragons Den, I guess…..