City crews maintain more than 1,000 kilometres of roads in Regina which is nearly the entire length of Saskatchewan. We use a variety of snow and ice control methods including prioritized snow plowing and sanding to get roads to good winter driving condition so everyone can travel safely.
Sidewalk Snow & Ice Removal
Snow and ice on residential sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owner/resident. It’s important to keep your sidewalks shovelled and sanded to help pedestrians walk safely and easily down the street.
All properties centrally located within Schedule B must clear ice and snow from the sidewalk adjacent to their property within 24 hours of a snow or ice event. Businesses, apartments and vacant lots outside of downtown must clear ice and snow from sidewalks within 48 hours. Snow removed from private property should be stored on their private yard, not on streets, sidewalks or boulevards.
Effective January 1, 2022, all property owners city-wide must clear sidewalks following a snow or ice event. City Council approved Sidewalk Snow Clearing as part of The Clean Property Bylaw to help keep our neighbourhood sidewalks accessible for all users. Learn more about the new provision.
Sandbox Map & Locations
The City provides free sand/salt mix at 19 sandboxes throughout Regina for residents to help make icy sidewalks safe. Bring a small container and something to scoop with. Crews monitor and fill the sandboxes as needed after they attend to ice control activities on the priority road network.
Should your community sandbox be empty, please send a Service Request online or call 306-777-7000 to let us know and crews will refill it at their earliest availability.
Public Sandbox Locations
Click "More Information" to show a list of locations with addresses and details.
Location & Address |
Specific Location Details |
Al Ritchie Arena |
In the parking lot near the tennis courts. |
Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre |
In the alley behind the building. |
Eastview Community Centre |
In the parking lot. |
Ecole Harbour Landing Elementary School |
In the southeast corner near the park maintenance building & rink. |
Ecole St. Elizabeth School |
Close to the sidewalk northeast of the building. |
Glencairn Neighbourhood Centre |
In the back parking lot near the garage with the green roof. |
Golden Mile Shopping Centre |
South of the building facing Parliament Ave in the Broken Rack’s parking area. |
Grasslands Co-op Gas Bar |
In the parking area southeast of the building. |
Jack Hamilton Arena |
Near the tennis courts. |
Lakeshore Mall |
Adjacent to the sidewalk on Hillsdale St & 23rd Ave. |
mâmawêyatitân centre |
Across the field at 7th Avenue and Montague Street. |
Maple Leaf Pool |
In the parking area southeast of the building. |
Murray Balfour Arena |
In the far corner of the parking lot near Massey. |
Northgate Mall |
Behind the former Lowes in the southeast corner of the parking lot. |
North West Leisure Centre |
In the southeast corner of the parking lot near the recycling bins. |
Sandra Schmirler Leisure Centre |
In the far corner of the parking lot near the blue recycling bins. |
South Leisure Centre |
Behind Optimist Arena in the joint parking lot. |
Southland Mall |
By the far west entrance on Lockwood Road in the parking lot. |
Victoria Park |
In the northwest corner of the park near the maintenance building. |
Snow Plowing
During a heavy snowfall, our top priority is safety and traffic flow to ensure vehicles and people can move throughout the city, especially on roads with high volumes of traffic. We plow snow according to the priority categories outlined in the Road Category Map.
Roads Plowed | Roads Included | |
---|---|---|
Category 1 - 159 km | Major Arterial Roads and designate hospital routes are plowed within 24 hours following a snow event with a minimum 5 cm of snow. | Albert St, Broad St, Victoria Ave, Lewvan Dr, Ring Rd, Arcola Ave, McCarthy Blvd, Rochdale Blvd |
Category 2 - 208 KM | Minor Arterial Roads, major collector roads, transit routes, bike lanes and downtown are plowed within 36 hours following a snow event with a minimum 5 cm of snow. | 13th Ave, Elphinstone St, Broadway Ave, Regina Ave, Lorne St, Truesdale Dr, Chulka Blvd, McIntosh St, Hill Ave, Windsor Pk Rd, Grant Rd |
Category 3 - 162 KM | Remaining collector roads, industrial/commercial, residential roads with traffic greater than 1.500 vehicles per day, and roads with school unloading zones are plowed within 48 hours of a snow event with a minimum of 5 cm of snow. | Castle Rd, Cumberland Rd, Edgar St, Fairview Rd, Greenwood Cres, Gillmore Dr, Helmsing Rd, Heseltine Rd, Mayfield Rd, McKinley Ave, Philip Rd, Shannon Rd, Simes Blvd, Tutor Way |
Category 4 - 45 KM | All gravel roads within 60 hours following a snow event with a minimum 5 cm of snow. | |
Category 5 - 525 KM |
All remaining residential roads with a minimum of 15 cm of snow. |
|
NOTE: Some roads fall into more than one category. For example, Victoria Avenue falls into categories 1, 2 & 3, depending on the section of road. See the Category map for the specific section.
Residential Snow Plow
Residential streets are only plowed after substantial snowfall (15 cm of snow from a single event) and when weather and time permits. The community is divided into sectors to plow more than 500 kilometres of residential roads. Residents can help crews plow streets faster by parking in their driveway or garage.
After a major snow event, crews also work to plow alleys that receive garbage and recycling pick up and try to provide residents with access to their alley parking. Because alleys are narrow, they are plowed by trucks with a blade on the front instead of a plow. This equipment leaves a snow ridge that residents will need to clear.
Ice Control
Streets are sanded with a sand and salt mixture and the order on a priority basis through the Winter Road Category roads. Sand and salt are applied selectively on sections of roads including intersections, bridges, ramps and merging lanes, curves, in front of schools and at intersections. Ice control is provided immediately after a road is plowed following a snow event, or as required and weather permitting. Ice control is also provided on roadways with icy spots or along areas leading up to an intersection.
The City also uses a liquid salt to control ice on small sections of streets and roads as an alternative to the traditional dry salt/sand mix. This product is added to the sand before being applied to the road, which helps it stick to the pavement better and returns roads to good driving condition faster. Liquid salt is also less corrosive and reduces the overall amount of dry salt and sand the City uses each winter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about winter maintenance.
What hours do your winter maintenance crews work?
Crews work 24/7 throughout the winter season.
How much equipment do you have?
City has over 50 pieces of heavy equipment including graders, sanding plow trucks, payloaders, snow blowers, sidewalk tractors, semi-trailer trucks that are used for winter maintenance activity. In additional several contractors are also hired to provide winter maintenance support during winter season.
Why does the City leave snow ridges?
Snow ridges are a result of plowing the road. Snow plows use a flipper or snow-gate blade to minimize snow ridges across alley entrances, intersections and driveways to reduce the height to approximately 30 cm. The City tries to ensure snow ridges remain in the curb lane, not on sidewalks.
Crews do not remove snow down to bare pavement since doing so would scrape and damage the street and sidewalk. However, if the snow ridge is left on your driveway, blocking intersection sight-lines or making driving hazardous, you can report the location using our online Contact Us form or by calling 306-777-7000 during business hours.
It may cost the City over 10 million dollars to remove all residential snow ridges once during the season. The process of snow ridge removal from the residential streets may take several weeks to complete. Crews follow the winter maintenance policy that was approved by the Council and updated from November 1, 2021.
Can you build snow barriers on the outskirts of the City to help alleviate blowing snow conditions?
Yes. Crews regularly inspect the outer areas of the City that are known to have issues with blowing snow. Snow barriers are placed once sufficient snow is available to build the barrier.
Here is a map of locations that have been identified as suitable for snow barriers and where permission has been given by the landowners.