Safety advocates question use of cement trucks for Toronto snow removal

Some safety advocates have expressed concern that the 33 cement trucks joining Toronto’s snow-removal fleet this winter will pose a higher risk to pedestrians and cyclists on the road.

“At very first glance, I thought it sounded like a very bad idea,” Jess Spieker, of Friends and Family For Safe Streets, told CTV News Toronto. “It brought immediately to my mind the names of all the names that I know of people who have been struck and killed by cement mixer operators. It’s a disturbingly long list.”

The most recent known death involving a cement truck was in November 2021 near Dundas and Sherbourne streets when a woman in her 60s who used a wheelchair, was fatally struck.

Spieker says on multiple occasions drivers of these vehicles are not aware they have hit someone due to the sheer size of the trucks.

“These vehicles are dangerous enough in regular conditions on like, a summer day in full daylight. All the collisions I’m aware of happened during the day in good weather,” she said. “So it just seems that much more scary to propose bolting a snow plow to one of these vehicles and letting it out on the streets.”

City Coun. Josh Matlow is also speaking out, calling the decision to add more cement trucks to the city’s streets during snow storms “when our roads are already dangerous is irresponsible.”

“Cement trucks have been involved in a disproportionate number of tragic deaths on our city’s streets over the last few years,” Matlow, who said he was unaware until recently that cement trucks would be a part of the winter maintenance fleet, wrote in a Twitter post.

“City staff should have informed Council before taking this unusual step.”

However, city officials say there’s nothing to worry about as the converted tri-axle vehicles aren’t much different than what they’ve previously used to remove snow in Toronto.

According to Vincent Sferrazza, the city’s director of operations and maintenance, the retro-fitted cement trucks will be used exclusively on major arterial roads and come equipped with a number of added safety features like blind spot mirrors, on-board cameras, a light board, and flags to make them more visible to the general public. Drivers will also be mandated to complete safety training.

He also stressed that residents should not see any difference when it comes to plowing.

“We will ensure that the safety of the community is maintained throughout the winter,” Sferrazza said.

The 33 vehicles make up a small portion of Toronto’s 1,100-vehicle fleet for snow removal, and Sferrazza says that it isn’t unusual for tri-axle vehicles to be used in this fashion.

“Every type of tri-axle vehicle is modified for winter. So this is nothing new for the City of Toronto,” he told CTV News Toronto. “What is different is that instead of a dump truck, which we are still using as well for this upcoming winter season, there will be a cement drum mixer.”

The cement drum mixer is added to the vehicle primarily for stability and balance, Sferrazza noted.

“Everything else about the vehicle is the same, and what’s modified is that a blade, a plow, is equipped in the front so that it could actually clear the snow off of a road,” he said.

Toronto City Council approved the billion-dollar winter maintenance fleet in December 2021, just before a major snow storm hit the GTA.

In a period of just 15 hours, about 55 centimetres of snow fell on the city, forcing roads to close and the mayor to declare a “major snow storm condition.”

It cost the city more than $17 million, or close to 20 per cent of its annual winter maintenance budget, to clear up the 180,000 tonnes of snow that fell on the streets and sidewalks.

The new winter maintenance contracts are for seven years of service, with an optional additional three years.