‘S no business like snow business for the township

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Every Uxbridge resident knows it has snowed a great deal so far this winter, but it appears there will be at least a brief respite in the days ahead.

On Tuesday, township public works employees were gearing up to battle several hours of freezing rain. Public works director Courtney Clarke said crews were out salting roads at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday and expected to be on the job most of the day.

"The guys have been working really hard," Clarke said, referring to the almost daily snowfalls during December. "They're doing a great job."

When asked whether the snowfall in December had affected the department's snow-clearing budget, Clarke said the township prepares for the extra hours put in by roads staff through savings in years where there is less snow. Also, some snow-clearing is done by contractors.

"It all levels out in the end," she said.

Some precipitation is expected over the weekend, but local forecasts indicate it is likely to be a mixture of snow, rain and freezing rain but not in large quantities.

Elgin Pond has frozen due to recent cold weather and testing of ice thickness was taking place. However, weather conditions have changed, and the Township says that Elgin Pond will only officially open for skating when the ice thickness has reached between eight and10 inches. Ice thickness is monitored and reported by using a system of flags.

Residents are asked to check the flag status prior to moving onto the ice. A yellow flag means the ice thickness is appropriate for skating. Venturing out on ice should always be done with caution. A red flag means the ice-thickness is insufficient and the ice is not safe.

Unsafe areas are marked with barricades and residents are reminded to heed the in-bound areas for their own safety.

Snowmobiles are asked to avoid travelling over shoveled areas as this will damage the ice-surface for other pond users.