carpenters

Being very practical, answers from the GTA and Vancouver area please!!! (and could you tell us which in your reply?)

How many days a year would you say snow really interferes in life; ie. do you get many days when your trip to work takes an hour or two longer than it should because of snow? Or is Canada way better equipped for it and hence fewer problems?

Thanks!

dbd33

I was delayed by snow once in the mid-eighties. I get delayed by ice a couple of times a year when the streetcar cable freezes.

bad.andy

Does this help? It was sent to me by someone in the snowy part out east. It may not be totally accurate , but it shows what the rest of the country thinks, and it's very funny which is good enough. Maybe they're jealous.

bad.andy


Vancouver (Reuters)

Day 2 - Vancouver Blizzard 2005 - Revenge of the Commuters

Chilled Vancouver commuters faced their second day of winter hell today, as an additional ¼ centimeter of the peculiar white stuff fell, bringing the lower mainland to its knees and causing millions of dollars worth of damage to the marijuana crops. Scientists suspect that the substance is some form of frozen water particles and experts from Saskatchewan are being flown in. With temperatures dipping to the almost but not quite near zero mark, Vancouverites were warned to double insulate their lattes before venturing out. Vancouver police recommended that people stay inside except for emergencies, such as running out of espresso or biscotti to see them through Vancouver's most terrible storm to date. The local Canadian Tire reported that they had completely sold out of fur lined sandals.

Drivers were cautioned to put their convertible tops up, and several have been shocked to learn that their SUV's actually have four wheel drive, although most have no idea how to use it. Weary commuters faced soggy sushi, and the threat of frozen breast implants. Dr. John Blatherwick, of the Coastal Health Authority reassured everyone that most breast implants were perfectly safe to 25 below. "The government has to do something," snarled an angry Trevor Warburton. "I didn't pay $540,000 for my one bedroom condo so I could sit around and be treated like someone from Toronto."

carpenters

Ok point taken!!!! Sounds like we'd fit right in, 1cm here and the whole place grinds to a halt!

Cookie

LMAO

AnnetteM

Hey Carpenters, I'm from Bristol too, and it's pretty much the same climate. I go back and forth between Vancouver area and Bristol quite frequently, and to be honest, I find it cooler in Bristol most of the time. Yes, everything comes to a halt in Vancouver with less than an inch of snow!

Alberta_Rose

The first snow that sticks seems to catch Calgarians on the hop. I seem to remember there were about 350 (or some silly number) accidents in the city one day last year .....

Then they remember how to drive on the slippy stuff and things improve. Yes driving times do increase here. Maybe also in part due to ppl using their cars more when the weather turns bad and little jonny doesn't want to go on the bus!!

hudd

Not lived in GTA or Vancouver, but have lived in Calgary and rural Ontario. Winters generally easier to get around apart from the old blizzard. Have taken 2.5 hours to do a 45 minute drive, but this may have happen only a few times over winter.

In some areas freezing rain occurs in October/November and sometimes in December/March which can make driving fun. It may last for a day or so and this is time when you would see many Trucks/SUV's in ditches. I drove an old VW car in Canada and never had an accident or problem driving in winter. I can remember driving at 40km/hr (25 mph) on Highway 17 to get to work and back in freezing rain at the beginning of most winters. Most companies will be flexible about getting into work late or leaving early in bad weather, you make the time up later on in the year.

Once it very cold say -15C and below, the snow is powdery and so easy to plough and clear off the roads. It the start of and end of winter that you may have similar problems like ice/slush on the road which the UK(when its temp is hovering around 0C). As long as you are a sensible driver, you will not have any problems with winter in Canada.

dbd33

Of the two seasons in the GTA, winter and construction, the latter is the worse for traffic delays. Weather doesn't close down the major roads completely.

Novocastrian

Snow can interfere in more ways than just a slow commute. I live in the frozen wasteland tundra about 30 km north of the Lakeshore: like most Canadian garages, mine is full of stuff other than vehicles. I need to clear significant amounts (10 cm or more) of snow from the cars and driveway about 10 times per winter I'd say. For many years I kept adolescents at home for this purpose but since they've now left I bought a snowthrowwer last year. (which of course I keep in the garage).

In addition, scraping thick ice off the cars after freezing rain is jolly good fun.

Rob_999

too true ! No need to worry about the snow here - just the constant rain from Nov to Jan