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Surrey schools, KPU and SFU closed Tuesday due to snow

City of Surrey crews working ‘around the clock’ to clear roads with a snowfall warning still in effect
Amy Reid
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Surrey School Superintendent Jordan Tinney shared this photo Tuesday morning, as he announced the district’s schools would be closed for the second day in a row due to snow. (Photo: Twitter@jordantinney)

Public schools in Surrey are closed again today (Feb. 12), as they were yesterday, with a snowfall warning still in effect.

Superintendent Jordan Tinney announced the closure around 6 a.m. on Twitter.

“‘Closed to instruction’ means no students and no employees whose primary role is to provide instructional support to students (eg. teachers, EAs, CYCW, etc.),” Tinney tweeted. “Principals can clarify any unique circumstances via email.”

SFU’s Burnaby, Surrey and Vancouver campuses are also closed today due to weather conditions.

“Campus buildings remain open on all SFU campuses, but all classes, exams, university services and campus activities are cancelled for the entire day,” the university announced early Tuesday morning.

All Kwantlen Polytechnic University campuses will also be closed today, due to snow.

At 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver, including Surrey and Langley.

“A long period of snowfall with total amounts of 10 to 15 centimetres is expected,” Environment Canada reports. “A second low pressure centre in as many days is giving more snow to the South Coast today. This second disturbance is spreading snow to virtually the entire South Coast this morning.”

Snow is expected to taper off late this afternoon.

“Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” cautions Environment Canada. “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.”

SEE ALSO: Remember to clear snow from your sidewalks, Surrey

Surrey’s snow removal crews are working “around the clock” clearing high-volume arterial, major collector roads, bus routes and hilly area with the city’s arsenal of 63 pieces of winter maintenance equipment and tonnes of salt.

Ray Kerr, Surrey’s manager of engineering operations, said crews have been working non-stop since snow began to fall Sunday.

“They’re all working, rotating 12-hour shifts,” he said Monday. “And we’ll be doing that at this point, until later in the week.”

Surrey targets “priority one” roads first, which are key arteries that are used by large numbers of drivers. They include main roads, bus routes and roads frequented by emergency service crews.

If those roads are taken care of, crews move onto second priority streets, which are artierial and collector routes, including local connector roads in residential areas.

“But once the snow starts we move back to priority ones again,” Kerr noted.

Meantime, the city has launched an online tool allowing people to track Surrey’s snow plows online.

It’s not in live time, but Kerr said it’s “pretty close.”

“There’s a bit of a delay but they can take a look at the routes that have been done, and within what time frame. It’s fantastic. It’s called 511,” he added.

See it for yourself at 511portal.com/surrey, AKA Surrey Plow Tracker.

Monday night, the City of Surrey also advised residents that waste pickup will be delayed, due to the significant snowfall this week.

READ ALSO: OUR VIEW: S’no time like now to help others as winter hits Surrey