NANAIMO — Travel times along Hwy. 19 tripled, at least, Wednesday night as heavy snow continued to blanket the region.
While Nanaimo saw little to no new accumulation after flurries flew most of Wednesday, Feb. 22, Parksville-Qualicum region saw extended whiteout conditions into the evening hours and overnight.
Sgt. Shane Worth with Oceanside RCMP said they responded to a near endless list of calls.
“Over the last 24 hours for Oceanside RCMP detachment, we’ve responded to at least 17 motor vehicle crashes in our area. Fortunately, none of the crashes resulted in any serious injuries and we do have quite a number of cars that have been left on the side of the road.”
Traffic was limited to single lane in some areas of Hwy. 19 due to vehicles sliding off the road way or crashing. (submitted photo)Those vehicles will be removed once tow trucks can safely access them, but Worth said it could be until the snow considerably melts.
Traffic along Hwy. 19 remained much slower than normal into Thursday morning. Some reporting bumper to bumper traffic Wednesday night with trips between Nanaimo and Parksville taking well over an hour.
Worth said the entire region got blanketed with around a foot of snow.
“Our main streets and highways are getting worked on but some of the side streets and collector roads are still not plowed so we’d ask motorists if they don’t have to go out right now, they allow some time for crews to get to work and clear the roads.”
Traffic was bumper to bumper due to treacherous roads and several accidents along Hwy. 19. (submitted photo)In Nanaimo, many City roads and highways were largely clear for the morning commute on Thursday.
David Thompson, City manager of roads, told NanaimoNewsNOW they had made significant progress through much of Wednesday, however continuing snow meant a reset back to clearing main roads.
“We lost a bit of ground there, the progress we’d made we had to do again. We spent all night on our priority one routes making sure they’re in good condition for the morning.”
Snow stopped through much of Nanaimo in the early morning hours, allowing crews to move back into residential areas.
Thompson said many parts of the city have had a plow visit.
“We got into most areas for at least a first pass, but a lot of those roads are still packed snow so we were able to take the fluffy stuff off the top…so we’re working on that getting some salt on there to loosen it up and we’ll keep working away to get down to pavement.”
He added roads are still considered winter driving conditions with icy, compacted snow so drivers should proceed with extreme caution.
East Wellington Fire Department crews responded to a series of incidents early Thursday morning, with vehicles sliding down side roads off Jingle Pot Rd.
Scott, the driver of a vehicle which wound up in a ditch, got caught behind a vehicle which had stopped on a hill.
“I brought my kids down the bottom of the hill…and then I looked up and sure enough my car was parked and just rolled into the ditch. I had it parked properly, the wheels turned and e-brake on.”
Crews remained on scene around 10 a.m. Thursday morning looking to safely remove vehicles from the area. No injuries were reported, however, the hill was still very icy, and drivers should avoid the area until it’s clear.
East Wellington Fire Department crews block access to roads off Jingle Pot Rd. due to icy conditions. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your email inbox every evening.
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