Let us know your view on the winter maintenance of Helsinki’s streets. Is there a location in the city that you would especially like to praise or criticise? The City of Helsinki is requesting residents and visitors to respond to a survey on the success of winter maintenance.
The survey gathers information on the success of winter maintenance during the 2021–2022 season. It includes questions about the winter maintenance of pavements, cycling lanes and streets, as well as the outdoor recreation routes and park pathways that are cleared of snow in the winter.
Responding will take approximately 5–10 minutes. The replies will be used to help improve the maintenance efforts. You can respond to the survey in Finnish, Swedish or English.
Link to the survey: query.eharava.fi/3780(Link leads to external service)
Short URL: bit.ly/talvi2022(Link leads to external service)
Please respond by 20 March 2022. If you have specific feedback that requires immediate action, please send a message through the City of Helsinki feedback channel: hel.fi/feedback.
Varying weather conditions are challenging for winter maintenance
Storm Valtteri brought a proper snowy winter to Helsinki at the end of January, with up to 20 centimetres of snow during the weekend in some places. The city had prepared for the snowfall in advance. The main streets were cleared quickly after the storm, but residential streets had to wait for a ploughing a bit longer.
Up to 80,000 loads of snow has been delivered to the reception sites this winter, far exceeding the typical figure on a snowy winter. The biggest number of loads delivered on a single day exceeds 5,400. Record snow depths were measured on 22 February, with 69 centimetres at the Kumpula and 38 centimetres at the Kaisaniemi measurement points.
In addition to winter storms, frequent temperature changes from frost to thaw have also been challenging for winter maintenance. Varying weather conditions have created slippery surfaces with puddles, potholes and cracks in the asphalt. Despite extra equipment, maintenance has not been able to meet the demands of the rapidly changing weather throughout the city quickly enough, leaving some streets in poor condition at times.
The city has received a large amount of feedback related to the snowy winter. Most of the input is related to the delayed clearing of snow on residential streets and their slipperiness. The heavy snowfall has caused congestion in Urban Environment Division’s customer service.
Winter street maintenance in Helsinki
The streets of Helsinki are always cleared according to predefined maintenance classes. The work has been prioritised, with the main roads, public transport streets and main pedestrian and cycling routes ploughed first. Residential streets are ploughed next.
The City is responsible for to prevent slippery conditions on roadways and cycle paths. Preventive actions are launched when the temperature is approaching zero. The responsibility for the gritting of the pavements is divided between the City and private properties, depending on the respective area.
The City maintains approximately 1,200 kilometres of vehicle traffic streets and roads and about 2,500 kilometres of cycling and pedestrian routes.
Further information on winter street maintenance
Photo: Roni Rekomaa