Snow Removal

The Town provides winter maintenance for more than 1,615 kilometres of regional and town roads (taking both sides of roadways into account) and more than 250 kilometres of walkways and sidewalks.

Although we salt and plow roads to make them safe to travel, some snow may remain. Only major arterial roads and bus routes are plowed down to the asphalt.

Please note: In the case of a significant weather event, winter maintenance will take more time. It is important to remember to avoid travelling in severe weather unless absolutely necessary, and to drive carefully and according to weather and road conditions.

Track our plows

Use the Plow Tracks tool to follow our snow clearing progress.

Please wait a full 24 hours after a storm has ended to contact us if your road has not been maintained. Once the 24-hour period has lapsed, contact us:

By email
By phone at 905-878-7252 ext. 2500

Please note: Email and phone lines are only monitored on weekdays during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Priority road clearing

In the event of a snowfall, we deploy snow clearing resources to Town roadways. It can take between eight to 24 hours after a snowfall to finish clearing all residential roadways. In the case of a significant weather event, winter maintenance will take more time.

We prioritize snow plowing routes based on emergency service routes, traffic volumes and road use. Winter maintenance is done in the following order of priority.

Major arterial roads and bus routes (primary and secondary roads)

Winter road maintenance, such as salting or sanding, begins before a winter event.
We begin to plow when there is two centimetres of snow accumulation.
Two to 12 hours after the snow stops, we clear down to the asphalt.

Rural collector roads and industrial areas

Five to 16 hours after the snow stops, we clear down to the asphalt in the centre of the road.

Urban and rural residential roads

We begin to plow residential roads after we have cleared primary roads and once 10 centimetres of snow has accumulated.
Eight to 24 hours after the snow stops, we plow these roads down to a snow-packed standard.

Road clearing response times

Road clearing response times based on snow accumulation
	Minor event (>5 cm)	Significant event (5-30 cm)	Major event (30 cm+)
Primary roads (Roads plowed to asphalt)	2-3 hours	2-4 hours	4-12 hours
Secondary roads (Roads plowed to asphalt)	4-5 hours	4-10 hours	8-12 hours
Rural collector & industrial roads (Roads plowed to asphalt down centre of road)	5-8 hours	5-10 hours	10-16 hours
Urban & rural residential roads (Snow is packed & treated)	8-16 hours	10-20 hours	18-24 hours

Sidewalks

After the accumulation of five centimetres or more of snow, we plow sidewalks and pathways associated with schools, transit routes and major pedestrian travel.

Residents are responsible for clearing snow on their sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a snow or ice storm. When you clear your sidewalk, please do not put the snow on the road as per By-law No. 115-2005.

Significant weather warning

On occasion, the Town will issue a significant weather warning. This happens when Environment Canada identifies extreme weather hazards that affect Milton.

Residents and visitors are strongly advised to use extreme caution when using roads and sidewalks and avoid unnecessary travel when a significant weather warning is issued.

During this time, it may take staff longer to clear roads and sidewalks due to extreme weather.

Snow at the end of your driveway (windrows)

Plow operators work to clear snow on the roadways to keep traffic flowing. Snow coming off our plows is pushed to the right side of the road, to keep it away from traffic. This results in piles of snow at the end of your driveway called windrows. Plow operators do not intentionally block driveways with snow. Windrows are unavoidable when clearing the road for traffic.

The Town does not clear windrows; this is the responsibility of the homeowner. The Town does offer a windrow removal program for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Damaged mailboxes

We regret any inconvenience caused by recent damages to your mailbox because of our winter snow plowing operations.

We will reimburse residents up to $100 towards repairs or replacement of your mailbox. To report mailbox damage by a Town of Milton plow, please use the contact information on this page and report any damage by May 30, 2022. We will assess the damage and leave instructions on where to submit receipts.