Spring is here, but snow-related work is never done for the Town of Okotoks’ Transportation team.

They’re continuing with local snow clearing (with some more parking bans in place today) but as the snow melts, it’s creating more work for crews.

Ruts of well-compacted ice are forming in back alleys and large pools of water are forming over frozen drainage basins.

Transportation Team lead Peter McDowell says calls from residents help bring their attention to particular problem areas.

“Last week we had 113 calls. We put them on a priority basis, we have somebody go and look at these areas and the next course of action.”

Potholes are an Alberta staple, and one that's already emerging.

McDowell says they’re also working on those on the go.

“The freeze/thaw is not helping with that. We’ve had crews out putting some cold mix in some of these potholes. I actually had one of our contractors out yesterday doing hot asphalt repairs on some of these other pens that are more problematic. We’re seeing a little more than last year at this time.”

There’s a lot out there but locals are welcome to report anything that’s causing problems or has been missed, it might just take some time to get through due to call volume.

“The calls are busy and we’re trying to get back to people as soon as we can. Sometimes we have catch basins or ruts done by the time we get back to them, so it can happen like that… We are taking a lot of calls and the phones are busy. We’re trying to get back to residents in a timely manner, so we appreciate the patience.

“There’s a lot on the go. The one we haven’t started yet is street sweeping.”

Contact information for the Transportation department can be found on the town’s website.