The City of Kamloops has looked into new equipment to prevent windrows in narrow subdivisions while clearing snow, but say the cons outweigh the pros.

Streets manager Glen Farrow says a snow gate, as its called, would work best in rural neighborhoods. Snow gates are devices that stop plows from releasing snow, and are used in some communities to help stop windrows from being dumped in front of driveways.

He says most complaints about snow clearing come in densely-populated subdivisions and cul-de-sacs, as he explained there are more than 550 cul-de-sac bulbs in town.

“A lot of the newer neighborhoods in Juniper, Aberdeen, Batchelor, there are no open areas. They’re driveway upon driveway upon driveway, suite upon suite. No parking is implemented in a lot of these other communities that we get compared to.”

And with snow gates, it would likely take city crews three-times as long to clear snow because plows have to drive slower, which in other cities has meant spending significantly more money to clear snow or reducing timelines for snow clearing expectations.

Farrow also says many recent policies passed by council encourage rental suites, which he says leads to more cars parked on the road in urban areas.

“A lot of those suites have additional cars at those properties, and where do they park? It’s not as simple as saying ‘no parking anywhere.’ Then there’d be a huge enforcement side of it as well.”

During the Christmas break, Farrow said street crews have seen harassment from the public, and he asked anyone with concerns over snow removal not to take it out on plow drivers but instead call or email the city’s civic operations department and speak to someone in management.