Winter weather made a short appearance Thursday morning – and while the snow didn’t fall for long, it stayed, and prompted traffic chaos during the morning commute.
In Edmonton, police said 19 collisions were reported to police dispatch between 6 and 9:45 a.m. Thursday, of those, five resulted in injuries, thirteen caused property damage, and one was a hit and run.
Those statistics don’t include crashes reported to police stations.
In addition, it’s believed slick roads caused a number of delays throughout the city and on area highways during the morning rush hour.
Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, City of Edmonton officials said crews were sanding bridge decks and hills – and advised drivers to drive to conditions.
A number of crashes on Highway 16 between Edmonton and Wabamun brought traffic to a standstill for much of the morning.
Commuters taking transit were not immune to the issues, the City said LRT bus replacement service was in effect for the Metro LRT Line between Kingsway/Royal Alexandra Hospital and Corona Station, and both LRT lines were running on reduced service due to issues with the line.
Going forward, police are advising drivers to take precautions and drive to conditions, give extra time to get to destination, drive slowly, leave extra space for other vehicles on the road, clear windows of snow and ice before driving, have an emergency kit in your vehicle and ensure tires have enough pressure and tread.
