Niverville’s fleet of snowplows has already been busy this year.

“We’ve completely cleaned the town three times, front to back, since the 22nd of December,” notes Operations Manager Ryan Dyck.

This is the first winter Niverville has introduced an official snow clearing policy to residents. Though some people are hesitant to change, Dyck says, for the most part, people have been compliant to the new snow route parking ban.

“We’re not looking for people to move their vehicles during the initial cleanup,” explains Dyck, “it's always the next day once we’re done, so we can tidy up the areas where the cars have been parked. It's only then when we enforce [the ban] and try to get people to move their vehicles.”

According to Dyck, only a handful of tickets have been given out so far.

He says its hard to prepare for a snowfall because the weather is a fickle thing. “For us, the main priority is getting equipment in tip-top shape and obviously having the staff to be available to run it.” When the streets need to be cleared, they need to be cleared quickly, so Dyck feels it is important to ensure that his crews are always ready to go.

A snowplow drives down a residential street in Niverville