Seasonal Maintenance

North Perth follows the provincially prescribed standards for winter maintenance (O. Reg. 239/02 and O. Reg. 47/13). Roads are categorized into six main classes that are based on traffic volumes and posted speed - Class 1, 2 and 3 are priority roads and include arterial roads and some secondary collectors; Class 4, 5 and 6 are local urban streets, rural side roads and cul-de-sacs and have less priority. In North Perth, we have Class 3, 4, 5 and 6 roads only. The provincial minimum maintenance standards can be found on the Ontario Laws website.

Priority roads carry higher volumes of traffic and are most easily identified by main (arterial) roads or secondary collector roads. These are the roads that people use to get to business areas and in and out of the municipality. The 'other' roads are primarily residential or secondary routes. These are systematically plowed after the 'priority' routes are completed.

As the name implies, No Winter Maintenance roads receive only summer maintenance. A list of No Winter Maintenance roads in North Perth can be found in the Winter Maintenance Policy, By-law 153-2017.

Sidewalk maintenance is performed on a Monday to Friday basis, with limited maintenance on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Routing is focused on pedestrian access to educational, medical and commercial areas in North Perth.

Approximately 22 of 40 km of sidewalk in Listowel and the main corridor sidewalks in Monkton and Atwood are cleared. Sidewalks are divided into the designation of Primary and Secondary for the purpose of winter maintenance and related level of services.

Clearing of primary sidewalk usually commences at the end of a snowfall where at least 8 cm has fallen. Staff make every effort to plow the walks adjacent to school zones by 9 a.m. if the snowfall has accumulated prior to that period. Secondary sidewalks will be maintained only after primary walks are completed.

View the Listowel Sidewalk Clearing Routes Map.

View the Atwood Sidewalk Clearing Routes Map.

View the Monkton Sidewalk Clearing Routes Map. 

A listing of the Primary and Secondary sidewalks maintained by North Perth can be found in the Winter Maintenance Policy, By-law 153-2017

Sod damage can result from two factors:

• The roadway and/or sidewalk plow operator may have difficulty finding the sidewalk or the edge of the road under a blanket of snow, or
• The ground may not be frozen when the plows go by.

Any snow clearing damage on private property that is not within the road allowance will be assessed by the Manager of Operations to determine if compensation will be provided to the property owner. Damage to sod in urbanized areas will be repaired by Public Works staff with topsoil and seed only.

Property owners in urbanized areas may place plow markers or stakes, provided they are made of flexible plastic or wood no larger than 2" x 2". Markers or stakes are to be a minimum of 18" from the travelled portion of the roadway.

Residents living on corner lots or the first on the right of an intersection usually get more snow deposited in their driveways. When the snow plow turns right, it sweeps a much larger area of the road than when it is travelling in a straight line and the snow also does not discharge from the plow truck. Turning right effectively makes the plow push most of the snow ahead instead of moving it from the centre of the road to the side. The first property and driveway encountered after the plow straightens out usually gets more snow than the others in the immediate area.

Canada Post is responsible for clearing the snow and ice around community mailboxes. Contact Canada Post at 1-800-267-1177 for more information.

If your mailbox is damaged during snow removal, please contact Public Works at 519-292-2066 and leave your name, address and phone number with our staff. The Roads Supervisor will inspect the damage to determine the cause. North Perth does not repair or replace mailboxes that are knocked over by snow or damaged from snow being discharged from the snow plow during snow removal.

Residents are asked that they do not pile snow from their driveway or private property in such a way that covers fire hydrants. Cleaning around fire hydrants is a team effort in North Perth. We strongly encourage property owners to clear snow from fire hydrants on or around their property to ensure the North Perth Fire Department can quickly gain access in the event of a fire. Should a resident not be able to clear the snow, then fire fighters and/or municipal staff will undertake te snow removal.

Perth County plows all county roads in North Perth. The following is the list of Perth County Roads within North Perth:

• Perth Line 91 in the Wallace Ward
• Perth Road 178 in the Wallace Ward
• Perth Line 88 in the Wallace Ward, travels through Gowanstown and Kurtzville
• Perth Road 140 in the Wallace Ward
• Perth Line 86 from the west of Molesworth to east of Listowel at Road 140
• Perth Road 147 from Perth Line 86 to Donegal
• Perth Line 72 from the Elma Ward, travels through Newry
• Perth Line 55 in the Elma Ward, travels through Monkton

For questions about County roads, please call the Perth County Public Works Department at 519-271-0531 ext. 311.

• Be patient. During heavy snowfalls it takes us longer to get all our roads cleared.
• Be a good neighbour. Help those who may not be able to shovel their driveways and sidewalks.
• Don't park on the street during a snowfall or immediately following a snowfall if plowing is still needed. Also, please do not park your vehicle at the very end of the driveway or across the sidewalk/boulevard area. Plow operators are not able to do their job properly if there are parked vehicles in the way.
• Keep a safe distance from plow trucks on the road and do not attempt to pass. Vehicles attempting to pass create a safety risk for everyone on the road.
• Do not place snow from sidewalks or driveways on the street. This creates a hazard for vehicles. The Highway Traffic Act prohibits the placing of snow or ice on the roadway.

With the warming temperatures that begin to melt the ice and snow build-up on top of our gravel roads, the lower layers remain frozen below.  As a result, this leaves the pooling waters with nowhere to drain, creating a mud-slurry in the lower layers.  When the weight of vehicles travelling along these roads push the mud-slurry to the road surface, it destabilizes the roadway structure, resulting in muddy and rutted road conditions.

During the Mud Season in North Perth grading can only be done when the road surface is firm, otherwise when the gravel is moved, more mud is created. If more material were to be added to the roads prior to these ideal conditions, it would also create more mud.

Before road repairs can be done after the Mud Season, roads first need to harden up with some warm and dry weather.  Sunny and windy days are the best conditions to help with this, while some sections of roads may take longer to dry out if they are more sheltered by trees or structures.

The Municipality of North Perth cautions motorist to drive slowly and carefully on gravel roads as some  may be very wet or rutted in areas. 

During the spring thaw, some North Perth roads may become too soft and unstable to withstand the weight of a fully loaded truck, regardless of the axles. In an effort to reduce damage to the roads during spring thaw, each year from March 1^st to April 30^th, we restrict vehicles to half loads (5 tonnes per axle) on all roads in the municipality, in an effort to reduce the amount of damage to North Perth roads.

Please assist us in reducing repairs to our road system by not having heavy deliveries to your property during this time of year.

If you notice a road that is in particularily rough condition, let us know so we can monitor and prioritize repairs once the dryer weather arrives.  Please use one of the following options to report a problem:

-        Request Portal

-        Email the Public Works Department

-        Call 519-292-2066

We appreciate your help and cooperation during this Mud Season.