City readies crews, equipment for winter road maintenance

With winter approaching, the city’s public works department is preparing crews and equipment for another season of snow and ice on Kawartha Lakes’ extensive road network. 

Zayden Alganabi, who became the city’s public works director in June, said pre-winter preparations include servicing snowplows and other equipment, checking salt and sand supplies, reviewing routes, and ensuring staff are ready for winter operations. 

Alganabi, who has previously held leadership roles in other municipalities, including the City of Toronto and the Town of Georgina, said Kawartha Lakes’ mix of urban and rural areas presents unique challenges when severe winter weather hits. 

Conditions can “vary significantly” across the city during the same storm, he added.

During major storms, crews prioritize roads according to established service levels and provincial maintenance standards, with higher-volume routes generally cleared before lower-volume roads, Alganabi said. 

In rural areas, high winds and drifting snow can create additional challenges, sometimes requiring crews to make multiple snow clearances on the same road during a single storm, he noted. 

“It’s not uncommon for one area of the municipality to experience significant snowfall while another area receives considerably less precipitation or experiences different road conditions altogether,” Alganabi told Kawartha Lakes Weekly. 

“This means we need to continually monitor conditions and adjust our operations as storms evolve.” 

As he prepares for his first winter as director of public works, Alganabi said he sees opportunities to improve efficiency and responsiveness by making greater use of technology, data and performance information to guide decision-making. 

Technology can help the department monitor road conditions, track route completion and determine where equipment is needed most, Alganabi said. 

The public works department is also looking at ways to use winter maintenance materials more efficiently, with the aim of maintaining safe roads while managing costs and reducing environmental impacts, Alganabi said. 

“Our objective is to maintain safe roads while ensuring materials are used responsibly and efficiently,” he said. 

Alganabi said the department also relies on weather forecasting and the experience of its staff to determine when and where to deploy resources as conditions change. 

“Through improved forecasting and operator expertise, we’re better able to anticipate storm events, determine appropriate treatment strategies and apply the right material at the right time,” he said. 

Alganabi said crews work to restore safe driving conditions across the municipality as quickly as possible during major storms, although some routes may take longer to clear than others. 

He also encouraged motorists to give snowplows plenty of space on the roads and avoid passing them, noting that operators have limited visibility while working. 

Alganabi said the department’s winter maintenance efforts are driven by the commitment of its staff to keeping roads safe for residents. 

“Most importantly, I want residents to know that our operators take tremendous pride in what they do,” he said. “Their focus is always on restoring safe travel conditions as quickly and safely as possible.” 

As reported in Kawartha Lakes Weekly recently, though, this winter might look different than last year’s cold season. Canadian weather modelling suggests Kawartha Lakes will see a much different winter than last year, perhaps giving city plows a bit of an easier time. 

After the record snow and cold of 20252026, Environment and Climate Change senior meteorologist David Phillips expects El Niño to bring warmer, wetter and less predictable weather over the next four to six months.