Edmontonians met with 1st snowy commute of the season: ‘It’s crazy’ – Edmonton

Drivers in and around Edmonton experienced a snowy commute Wednesday morning, as the first snowfall of the season blanketed the region.

The snow began falling Tuesday evening and didn’t let up overnight, leading to snowy conditions on area roadways.

Wednesday brought about the first test of two new collision reporting centres in Edmonton, which opened at the end of September. The goal of the centres is to streamline the process for reporting minor collisions while also freeing up Edmonton police resources.

Instead of reporting the crash at an Edmonton Police Service front counter or waiting for police at the collision site, drivers who have been involved in a minor collision go to a collision reporting centre where staff will help them complete the police report.

The process includes taking pictures of vehicle damage and contacting family members and insurance providers.

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2 collision reporting centres in Edmonton aim to free up police resources

Mylan Worthington said he was stopped at a light on 91 Street at 28 Avenue when he was rear-ended by someone.

“The roads are really slick. Luckily having winter tires helps a little bit, but not everybody has winter tires on the first snowfall,” he said.

“Everybody is panicking on the first snowfall and just learning how to drive to the conditions again. Definitely treacherous and didn’t think I’d wake up this morning and have an accident.”

Worthington was the first person through the doors of the collision reporting centre in south Edmonton when it opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“It’s handy. This is the first time I’ve used it,” he said. “Not having to get backlogged at a police station or somewhere else or calling 911.”

Khaled Massoudi is a contractor with Auto Rescue, an emergency roadside service.

“It’s crazy. This is the first snowfall and every year, it’s like people forget how to drive,” he said. “There’s been lots of accidents this morning and now this is a new thing, this collision reporting centre. So we’ll see how long this is going to take.”

He brought a vehicle to the south reporting centre, and was a bit unsure of how efficient it was going to be.

“I don’t think it’s the best, but considering how much work the cops have to do and the budget cuts, I think they have no choice.”

Thomas Collins was also involved in a minor collision Wednesday morning. He was stopped at a light, preparing to turn left, when a vehicle slid through the intersection and hit another vehicle, which then ran into his vehicle.

“Pretty classic accident for a day like today,” Collins said. “Everybody was pretty cool about it. No yelling or screaming.”

Collins was using the services at the south reporting centre for the first time and said he was fairly pleased with the process overall.

“It’s been pretty straight up and down, actually. The process looks like it’s well-oiled, shall we say. Forty-five minutes that they gave us for a wait time seems like it’s going to be on point,” he said.

“I think our officers probably have enough on their plates that dealing with minor collisions like this where nobody’s injured, it’s just property damage — there’s probably better use of their time.”

Collins also had a message for other drivers.

“The snow has arrived. You live in Edmonton. Go slow. Pay attention.”

The City of Edmonton said its crews were out applying traction materials to roads, sidewalks and pathways.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Alberta Motor Association said there was a 10-hour wait time in Edmonton for anyone needing a tow. The wait time to boost a vehicle or repair a flat time was around two hours, the AMA said Wednesday morning.

Snowfall warnings remained in place for much of central and southern Alberta Wednesday morning. While Edmonton was not included in that warning, areas directly south and east of the city were included.

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