Saskatoon Transit and Access Transit experiencing delays due to heavy snowfall

Winter weather returned to many parts of the province with a widespread storm dropping upwards of 25 centimetres of snow. Keenan Sorokan reports.

Riders of Saskatoon Transit and Access Transit may notice some changes due to recent heavy snowfall in the city.

In a press release sent Wednesday morning, the City of Saskatoon says Saskatoon Transit is operating, but heavy snow accumulation is impacting access to bus stops and some streets.

“Bus operators may stop in the driving lane to pick up passengers and not pull into bus stops to avoid getting stuck,” the City said in the statement.

“Buses will be detoured if a bus stop is not accessible due to blown-in snow.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The City says Access Transit users are strongly encouraged to reschedule non-urgent trips if possible. Trips may be cancelled if the street or sidewalk to the pick-up location is covered with too much snow, which can impact the safety of the customer and operator. Same-day trips will not be accepted Wednesday.

Riders should also prepare for possible delays. If a paratransit but gets stuck in snow, customers on board will be required to wait.

Updates on route delays and cancellations can be found at saskatoontransit.ca/service-alerts.

Residents react to snowfall

John Hume figured the warm temperatures Saskatoon experienced over the last few weeks weren’t going to last.

“Well, I knew we were going to get another one. It’s February yet,” he said.

Hume was out clearing snow in Confederation Park Wednesday morning after more than 10 centimetres of snow fell overnight. Being one of the only people with a snowblower on his street, he enjoys being able to help his neighbours.

" I enjoy it. I guess it’s nice to have good neighbours, and if you help them out, maybe you get better neighbours," Hume said.

For many others, it was time to get some exercise and put the shovels to use. Marcus Kennedy wasn’t aware a snowstorm was on its way. He said he was the only one out for a run near the river on Tuesday and suspected something was on its way from the amount of frost accumulating on his beard.

“I was surprised, honestly. I thought we were going to be done with snow, but, you know, Mother Nature and all. It sneaks up on you,” Kennedy said during a break in shovelling.

After the roughly 10 cm fell, the city estimated another five or so centimetres fell throughout Wednesday. City crews and contractors planned on clearing more snow beginning at 6 p.m. on all top priority roads. Once the snow stops falling is when the remaining streets will be taken care of.

Aside from the disruptions to transit to start the day, city operations were largely unaffected by the snowfall.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve seen any surprises this time,” roadways manager Cam LeClaire said. “We were expecting quite a bit of snow and some pretty high winds, and, that’s essentially what we got.”

LeClaire is asking motorists to allow for extra time for their drives and leave plenty of space with all the extra personnel clearing snow Wednesday evening.

Kennedy is hoping for fewer days of shovelling for what’s left of winter.

“Spring can’t come soon enough,” he said. “That’s all I can say.”