Winter weather leads to hundreds of collisions in Calgary

Calgary police are still recommending drivers stay home if they can following heavy snow in the city. 

A Calgary police spokesperson said Saturday morning around 9:30 a.m. that in the previous 33 hours there were 366 collisions in the city.

Of those, 299 collisions were classified as non-injuries, 36 as collisions with injuries, and 32 hit and runs — the spokesperson added that some of the collisions qualified for more than one category. 

There were 34 collisions in Calgary Saturday as of 9:30 a.m., Calgary police said, as the roads remain icy and unpredictable. 

On Friday CPS recommended drivers avoid travel if possible. That recommendation remains in place as of Saturday morning. 

Cpl. Lacey Blair with the RCMP said officers responded to an incident with a jack-knifed semi and five other vehicles on Hwy. 2 near Airdrie Friday, but no injuries were reported. 

The highway has since reopened. 

"We are still recommending that people give themselves ample time when driving and just check with 511 before they leave to see how the highway conditions are," she said. 

Calgary received up to 14 centimetres of snow in some areas since Thursday night, said Tara Norton-Merrin with the City of Calgary in an emailed statement. 

"Light snow is forecasted on and off throughout the day today, with freezing temperatures and a risk of frostbite." 

Norton-Merrin said that throughout the snowfall, crews will work on priority routes — main roads that see 20,000 or more vehicles per day —  plowing snow from the through-lanes and putting down material where needed. 

City crews are also focusing on clearing pedestrian infrastructure, transit routes and bridge decks.

The city does not currently anticipate the need to call a snow route parking ban.