Although winter weather is often random and unpredictable, City snow removal efforts are not. The City is committed to providing a high level of snow removal service throughout the winter season.
Using a combination of City staff and contractors, plowing, sanding and salting is performed with consideration to safety, environmental and budget concerns. Your cooperation in helping to keep streets clean and safe is appreciated.
- On-Street Overnight Parking Restrictions
- Levels of Service
- Winter Maintenance Technology
- City Responsibilities
- Resident Responsibilities
- Downtown Business Responsibilities
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick facts:
- Barrie has received 300 cm of snow (just over 9.5 feet) so far this winter season (November 1, 2025–January 28, 2026).
- Since January 4, crews have cleared snow banks from approx. 154 km of roads in Barrie. That’s about the same distance as driving from the Ops Centre on Ferndale Drive to the Hwy 400/401 split and back!
Winter Maintenance Updates
The City's Operations department monitors Environment Canada's weather forecasts and advisories and uses traffic cameras and RWIS stations to prepare for expected weather and align winter maintenance activities accordingly. Updates are posted below during business hours, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays), and when significant weather events have been declared.
Winter maintenance operations are being impacted by a province-wide road salt shortage. Crews are carefully managing and prioritizing available materials while continuing to maintain safe road conditions. Read the January 16 media release for details.
Thursday, February 5
Update as of 9:30am. A Significant Weather Event is in effect for the City of Barrie.
- Priority/Secondary Roads: Contractor combo units were out last night to sand hills, curves and intersections. This was completed at 3am.
- Residential Roads: No action required.
- Priority/Secondary Sidewalks: No action required.
- Downtown/Parking Lots/Bridge Decks: Staff salted all parking lots between 4–7am. No action required downtown or for bridge decks.
- Snow Lifts: Last night, snow was removed from the following areas:
- Big Bay Point Road (Hurst to Sandringham)
- Burton Avenue (Minet’s Point Essa Rd, north side)
- Lakeshore Drive (Simcoe to Tiffin)
- Simcoe Street (Bradford to Mulcaster)
- Toronto Street (Dunlop to Simcoe)
Today, crews will remove snow from Mapleview Drive West, starting at Essa and heading eastbound.
Snow lifts continue overnight to remove accumulation on arterial and collector roads, with a focus on narrow curb lanes and on-street cycling lanes. Crews also continue to address sight line concerns in areas where snow banks are very high.
On-Street Overnight Parking Restrictions
As per the Overnight Parking By-law, on-street parking is not permitted 3–6am within the Downtown Business Improvement Area, and on other City streets 12:01–7am, December 1 through March 31*. Outside of this time period, overnight on-street parking is not permitted if a "Winter Maintenance Event" is declared. *There are possible exceptions.
Levels of Service
The City has developed carefully planned levels of winter road service to combat the diverse weather conditions we see every winter. A combination of City-owned trucks and contracted units provide effective snow plowing services to Barrie roads through our Priority, Secondary, and Residential routes system (see Levels of Winter Maintenance Map).
The Levels of Service system assigns priority to all major roads with the highest traffic in Barrie as either Priority or Secondary routes. To ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians, these major routes are serviced on a 24/7 basis when necessary. Residential routes (all residential streets in the city) are attended to regularly, but less often than Priority and Secondary routes.
With a system of service based around snow levels and maintenance times, we can ensure clear and safe roads are maintained efficiently.
The City's levels of winter maintenance service meet the Provincial Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.
View the Levels of Winter Maintenance Map
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City Responsibilities
The City's winter maintenance responsibilities include over 1,600 km of roads, over 600 km of sidewalks, 25 parking lots, 72 crosswalks, 113 bus shelters, 708 bus stops, and downtown sidewalk intersections. Please note:
- Pedestrian walkways are not maintained for winter operations.
- Snow removal operations around super mailboxes are handled by Canada Post.
- Snow/ice clearing at GO stations is handled by GO Transit staff.
- Winter maintenance on highways and off ramps—including the 400 series north of County Road 89 and 2-lane highways around Barrie (90, 26 & 27)—is overseen by the Ministry of Transportation.
- The City does not remove driveway snow windrows; this must be done by residents.
Do you need help clearing the snow from your driveway or can you help other residents? Snow Angels Canada is an online platform where residents who require assistance with snow shoveling can post a request for service and volunteers in their area can reach out to help. Visit snowangelscanada.ca to join the program! The City does not own or operate the online platform.
Downtown Business Responsibilities
Per the Snow Clearing (Downtown) By-law, downtown businesses within specific geographic boundaries are responsible for removing all snow and ice from sidewalks in front of, alongside or at the rear of the building, premise or vacant lot before 10am, seven days a week.