Almost 48 hours following a severe winter storm with heavy snow and strong winds impacting northeastern Ontario, travel remains difficult in Timmins. The city released a statement indicating that some residents on rural and residential roads will experience delays in service.
The primary 21-kilometer route connecting the ends of two provincial highways within the city has been mostly reduced to a single lane, with one lane in each direction at a narrow section of Algonquin Blvd. and King St. Public works crews are currently prioritizing widening this crucial link before moving on to expand busy roads, collector roads like Airport Rd., major routes such as Hwy. 67, and finally residential roads.
Sidewalks have not been cleared yet, and the city mentioned that maintenance will be delayed as crews first clear high-traffic pedestrian areas. Timmins is seeking assistance from contractors not currently registered on its equipment list to aid with snow removal or plowing by contacting them at servicetimmins@timmins.ca.
While Timmins residents and city workers are grappling with the snowdrifts, a meteorologist from Environment Canada noted that this area bore the brunt of the recent storm. Gerald Cheng reported that between 50 to 60 cm of snow fell, whipped around by strong winds. He added that such intense storms are not unusual for this region at the start of winter, with recent mild winters possibly leading to a false sense of security.
The city is urging residents not to push snow onto the streets, park in roadways or plowed areas, and to refrain from depositing snow from their properties onto city streets or sidewalks due to safety concerns. Snow removal in Schumacher is slated to commence on January 5, 2026, while garbage collection has been canceled, albeit city transit services are operational.