Snow clearance of Newmarket local roads and sidewalks are maintained by the Public Works Services and Parks and Facility Services department. Regional roads (e.g. Yonge Street, Mulock Drive) are maintained by York Region.
The Town of Newmarket works hard in advance to prepare for the first snow fall of the winter season and regularly monitors the weather. Newmarket staff work to transform dump trucks and tractors into snow plow, and perform winter vehicle maintenance while ensuring sufficient supplies of salt to keep our roads safe.
First snow response is to salt the roads and sidewalks as this prevents the ice and snow from bonding onto the surface. Snow plowing operations begin when more than 6 cm of snow has fallen. It can take up to 16 hours to clear 624 km of road (both sides of the road) and 364 km of sidewalk in Newmarket.
See below for Newmarket's snow clearing process.
Please remember:
- Do not push snow into the streets or sidewalks
- Do not put waste and recycling bins on the street or sidewalk
- Do not park your cars on the street as this interferes with snow plowing operations
- Please report damages to [email protected]
- Please respect our snow operators
Snow-related Service Requests
Newmarket crews continuously monitor the road conditions during inclement weather events and to identify areas that need additional snow clearing work. Crews also make an effort to ensure streets and sidewalks are not missed.
If you believe your street/sidewalk may have been missed, or if your street/sidewalks needs additional service, please submit a snow-related service request online approximately 16 hours after the snow event and 24 hours after a significant weather event (i.e. snow or freezing rain stops falling). Track the progress of Newmarket's plows with the Locate my Plow App.
If the Town has declared a significant weather event, please be patient as it will take longer for crews to make their way around Town with a focus on primary routes first, followed by secondary routes.
Please note that the Town of Newmarket does not clear windrows (snow that has been pushed onto your driveway while the snow plow is clearing the street). The Town understands that windrows caused by road snow plowing can be frustrating for our residents. Unfortunately, in order to effectively plow the road, windrows cannot be avoided.
General Snow Information- The Town starts to plow when snow accumulates over 6 cm.
- First snow response is to salt the roads and takes four to five hours to complete the Town.
- It takes up to 16 hours to plow/clear all roads in Newmarket and can take longer if snow continues to fall.
- Newmarket clears main roads and residential roads following the Town's road network. Roads with higher traffic for emergency vehicles and/or connect to Regional Roads are cleared first. Residential roads, courts and elbow streets will be cleared after. Often times, snow plows will need to return to higher traffic routes after they have been plowed if snow continues to fall and therefore it may take longer for them to reach residential streets.
- There are over 250 courts in Town that require special small plow to clear. Therefore it may take longer for crews to reach court streets.
- The Town plows sidewalks on all primary roads and along school routes, as much as possible.
- Trails at Fairy Lake and Tom Taylor Trail are cleared during the winter. The remaining walkways are not maintained for winter use. Please take extra caution and use at your own risk due to the potential for changing conditions due to freeze/thaw and pooling water on the trail.
- Pedestrian Bridges on town property are not maintained with Sand/Salt. Please use bridges with CAUTION and at own risk. Bridges are slippery when wet. Not using sand/ salt material helps to protect waterbodies and slows down deterioration of the bridge structure.
- Please use extra caution on the section of the
Tom Taylor Trail immediately south of Mulock bridge. This trail segment
is susceptible to flooding causing slippery conditions
- Walkways into parks near or on school routes and walkways between streets are cleared.
- Community mailboxes are cleared by Canada Post and not by the Town of Newmarket
- Bus shelters and stops are the responsibility of York Region Transit
- Property owners are responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks fronting and abutting their properties.
Learn more at newmarket.ca/snowfaq
Significant Weather Event Declaration during inclement weather When Environment and Climate Change Canada announces inclement weather that may post a significant danger to all road users, the Town of Newmarket is able to declare a Significant Weather Event (prusuant to s.169.9 of Reg. 239/02, as amended).
What does this mean?
During a Significant Weather Event, Newmarket's winter services do not change. However, residents can expect winter clearing activities to take longer to complete with a continued focus on primary roads and routes followed by secondary roads and routes.
How can you help?
During singificant weather events, and any inclement snow event, avoid parking on the street to allow for snow plows to pass
- Reminder that on-street parking is not allowed from the hours of 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.
- If you need extra parking, apply for a FREE Off-Street Parking Permit. This program allows residents to park in select municipal lots overnight between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. when winter parking restrictions are in effect.
- Make sure nothing on your property is obstructing sidewalk snow plows. This can include driveway curbs, sprinkler heads, gardens or shrubs). These should be positioned at least 45 cm or 18" away from both sides of the sidewalk.
- Report fallen branches or trees to 905-895-5193 during regular hours and press 3 to access our after-hours service.
- Report power outages to Newmarket Hydro at 905-895-2309 or view their outage dashboard.
- Avoid placing waste items on a snowbank, on the street or on the sidewalk.
Please respect our snow plow operators
Be courteous and kind to all Newmarket snow crews as they work hard throughout the day and overnight to ensure all roads, sidewalks and trails are plowed and safe for residents to travel on. Please be patient, respect our snow plow operators and give them the space they need to plow the area.
The Town understands that heavy snow falls can be frustrating for residents, however, please avoid approaching snow plow operators when they are doing their work. If you have a question or concern, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or call 905-895-5193.
If you are looking to make a service request or to report a missed street, please contact the Town after 24 hours has passed from when it has stopped snowing during siginficant weather events.
