Township, Region working through province-wide salt shortage

By Mark Pavilons
Editor
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter

The record snowfall last week compounded an Ontario-wide salt shortage, caused by high demand from frequent snowstorms and supply disruptions at major mines.
King entered the winter maintenance season prepared, with their material storage facility filled to capacity.
To date, the Township has used approximately 4,700 tonnes of sand and salt over its network road and sidewalk network.
Roads crew are actively monitoring inventory and taking measures to manage it, including:
Daily insights on material-application rates and totals through its AVL software Geotab; increased feedback from road patrols; continuous weather monitoring; regular stockpile inventory checks; close coordination with plow operators.
Township staff noted crews continue to follow best practices such as spreading material efficiently, reducing deadheading, and avoiding unnecessary treatment on bare pavement to make the most of available resources.
“We appreciate your understanding as they work diligently to mitigate the impact of this shortage while keeping safety our top priority,” Township staff said.
While York Region is experiencing shipment delays for road salt, their crews continue to meet service levels through strategic planning and careful allocation of resources.
To date, this season's weather conditions necessitated increased road salting throughout York Region and Ontario.
York Region receives its road salt through a contracted supplier.
York Region is responsible for maintaining approximately 1,200 kilometres (or more than 4,400 lane-kilometres) of Regional roads that carry more than 2.6 million vehicles daily across nine cities and towns.
During the winter months, maintenance activities include snowplowing, snow removal, sanding, salting and use of salt-brine to help prevent ice build-up on roads.
Road conditions are monitored 24 hours a day by road patrols under the Region's Roads and Traffic Operations Centre.