Snow Removal in Nutana
Back-lane garages, narrow 1880s-era streets, and a mature elm canopy make Nutana a different clearing job than the new suburbs.
Nutana is the oldest part of Saskatoon, and it clears like it. Saskatoon Snow Co works the neighbourhood on seasonal contracts and per-storm calls, with the equipment and the timing matched to lots that were laid out in the 1880s.
An 1883 Neighbourhood, Cleared in the 2020s
Nutana was settled on 18 August 1883 by the Temperance Colonization Society, and it existed before Saskatoon did. It amalgamated with the town of Saskatoon and the village of Riversdale on 1 July 1906 to create the city.
That history is not decoration on a snow page. It set the lot sizes, the street widths, and the lane pattern, and none of those have changed. The Trounce House from 1883 still stands, and the Marr Residence of 1883 to 1884 on 11th Street East is the oldest building in Saskatoon still on its original site.
Back Lanes and Detached Garages
The single biggest difference between clearing Nutana and clearing a newer neighbourhood is where the vehicle is parked.
Properties here commonly have a detached garage with rear lane access rather than the front-attached garage that dominates newer areas. So the clearing route runs from the house to the back of the lot, through whatever gate or fence line is in the way, and the snow has to go somewhere on a lot that has already given most of its space to the house and the garage.
The lane surface itself is the City’s, and Nutana’s back lanes are on a City maintenance schedule. What we handle is the private side of that boundary: the garage pad, the apron where it meets the lane, and the walking route. That apron is the piece that most often gets missed, because it sits exactly where municipal responsibility stops.
Narrow Streets and the Elm Canopy
Nutana’s roads run on a grid, streets east to west and avenues north to south, though the ones near the river bend to follow the bank instead. Broadway Avenue is the exception to the tight-street rule, and deliberately so. It was named for its width, laid out so a team of more than two horses could turn around without going round the block.
The rest is narrower, and there is a canopy over it. Older neighbourhoods close to downtown carried about 25 percent tree cover in 2017 against a city average of 9 percent, most of it mature American elm, which has the high spreading shape that makes it a boulevard tree in the first place.
Elms on the boulevard mean a narrower working corridor between the sidewalk and the street, low branches over some approaches, and roots that make a hard edge on a driveway apron. It is a reason to bring smaller equipment and do more by hand here, and a reason not to hire someone who will take a mirror off a trunk.
The Sidewalk, and How Much Lands On It
Every Saskatoon property owner has 48 hours after a snowfall to clear the public sidewalk bordering their property, and 24 if the property is non-residential. In Nutana that obligation is harder than the bylaw makes it sound.
Narrow streets platted in the 1880s left less boulevard between the road and the walk, so when a grader clears the street, more of what comes off ends up on the sidewalk rather than in a strip of grass. The volume that has to move is simply larger than on a wide-boulevard suburban street with the same snowfall.
Most Nutana customers put the front walk, the public sidewalk, and the back lane apron on one contract for exactly that reason. See sidewalk snow clearing for how that part works, residential snow removal for the whole property, and snow hauling for the lots that genuinely run out of room by February.
Neighbourhoods We Serve in Nutana
- Broadway
- Saskatchewan Crescent
- Varsity View edge
- Exhibition
Our Services in Nutana
- Residential Snow Removal
- Driveway Snow Removal
- Sidewalk Snow Clearing
- Seasonal Snow Contracts
- Snow Removal for Seniors
- Snow Shoveling
- Commercial Snow Removal
- Parking Lot Snow Removal
- Condo & Strata Snow Removal
- Snow Plowing
- Snow Hauling & Removal
- Ice Control & Salting
- Sanding Services
- Roof Snow Removal
- Ice Dam Removal
- Emergency Snow Removal
Snow Removal Questions in Nutana
Do you clear back lanes in Nutana?
We clear the private part, meaning the garage pad, the apron where it meets the lane, and the path from the house. The lane surface itself belongs to the City, which maintains Nutana's back lanes on its own schedule. The gap between those two things is where most Nutana customers get stuck, because a cleared lane does not help if the apron is still banked in.
Why does a detached garage change the job?
Because the snow is at the back of the lot instead of the front. The route runs house to garage rather than house to street, there is usually a gate or a fence line in the way, and there is far less room to stack what comes off. On a front-drive suburban lot you push snow onto the lawn. On a Nutana lot there often is not one back there.
The boulevard trees make it hard to get equipment in. Is that a problem?
It is a real constraint, not an excuse. Older neighbourhoods near downtown carry roughly 25 percent canopy cover against a city average closer to 9 percent, and mature elms sit right on the boulevard between the sidewalk and the street. It means smaller equipment and more hand work on some properties, and we would rather quote that honestly than damage a tree.
How much snow ends up on my sidewalk from the street plow?
On the narrow grid streets here, a fair amount. Nutana's streets were platted long before anyone planned for a grader, so there is less boulevard to absorb what comes off the road, and it lands on the walk you are responsible for under the 48-hour bylaw.
Clearing Snow in Nutana
Driveways, walks, and lots cleared across Nutana. Get a free quote on your property.