WinterDriving

By Nick Liard

The Ontario Government plans to implement some changes to the way winter roads are maintained.

By next winter, the province will add more equipment, better prepare for winter storms and improve the 5-1-1 website by adding live camera images and time-stamped road condition information.

Most of the demand came from the North, but Nickel Belt M-P-P France Gelinas doesn’t see any specific changes to help with winter roads around Sudbury.

No specifics were provided for Northern Ontario….just that more cameras will be added.

Gelinas says only time will tell if the changes will be beneficial.

The government will also launch a ‘Track My Plow’ pilot program so residents can see where plows are operating along a travel route.

Gelinas believes the problems stem from when the province began contracting out maintenance to private companies.

She plans to monitor the situation closely.